2003 Castilian-Leonese regional election
25 May 2003
All 82 seats in the Cortes of Castile and León
42 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered2,177,222 0.4%
Turnout1,581,983 (72.7%)
5.1 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Juan Vicente Herrera Ángel Villalba Joaquín Otero
Party PP PSOE UPL
Leader since 16 March 2001 22 October 2000 13 September 1997
Leader's seat Burgos Valladolid León
Last election 48 seats, 50.4% 30 seats, 33.1% 3 seats, 3.7%
Seats won 48 32 2
Seat change 0 2 1
Popular vote 760,510 576,769 60,331
Percentage 48.5% 36.8% 3.8%
Swing 1.9 pp 3.7 pp 0.1 pp
Constituency results map for the Cortes of Castile and León
President before election

Juan Vicente Herrera
PP

 Elected President

Juan Vicente Herrera
PP

The 2003 Castilian-Leonese regional election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Cortes of the autonomous community of Castile and León. All 82 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

Overview

Electoral system

The Cortes of Castile and León were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Castile and León, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Castilian-Leonese Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[1] Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Castile and León and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

All members of the Cortes of Castile and León were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid and Zamora, with each being allocated an initial minimum of three seats, as well as one additional member per each 45,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 22,500.[1][2]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Cortes constituency was entitled the following seats:

Seats Constituencies
14 León, Valladolid
11 Burgos, Salamanca
7 Ávila, Palencia, Zamora(–1)
6 Segovia
5 Soria

The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[3]

Election date

The term of the Cortes of Castile and León expired four years after the date of their previous election. Elections to the Cortes were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 13 June 1999, setting the election date for the Cortes on Sunday, 25 May 2003.[1][2][4]

The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Cortes of Castile and León and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election was due and some time requirements were met: namely, that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or within the legislature's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Cortes were to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected procurators merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.[1][5]

Parliamentary composition

The Cortes of Castile and León were officially dissolved on 1 April 2003, after the publication of the dissolution decree in the Official Gazette of Castile and León.[6] The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the Cortes at the time of dissolution.[7]

Parliamentary composition in April 2003
Groups Parties Legislators
Seats Total
People's Parliamentary Group PP 48 48
Socialist Parliamentary Group PSOE 30 30
Mixed Parliamentary Group UPL 3 5
IUCyL 1
TC 1

Parties and candidates

The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.[2][4]

Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:

Candidacy Parties and
alliances		 Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Gov. Ref.
Votes (%) Seats
PP
List
 Juan Vicente Herrera Conservatism
Christian democracy		 50.45% 48 check [8]
[9]
PSOE Ángel Villalba Social democracy 33.06% 30 ☒ [10]
IUCyL José Luis Conde Socialism
Communism		 5.43% 1 ☒ [11]
UPL Joaquín Otero Regionalism
Autonomism		 3.70% 3 ☒
TC–PNC Carlos Rad Castilian nationalism
Progressivism		 1.39% 1 ☒

Opinion polls

The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a poll. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 42 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Castile and León.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 25 May 2003 Cortes of Castile and León election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes  % ±pp Total +/−
People's Party (PP) 760,51048.49–1.96 48±0
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 576,76936.77+3.71 32+2
Leonese People's Union (UPL) 60,3313.85+0.15 2–1
United Left of Castile and León (IUCyL) 54,0853.45–1.98 0–1
Commoners' Land–Castilian Nationalist Party (TC–PNC) 18,5951.19–0.20 0–1
Independent Candidacy–The Party of Castile and León (CI–PCL) 11,1800.71+0.25 0±0
The Greens (LV) 7,4240.47+0.42 0±0
The Greens–Left Forum (LV–FI) 4,1300.26New 0±0
The Greens (LV) 1,8350.12+0.07 0±0
The Greens–Cives (LV–Cives) 1,4590.09New 0±0
Union of the Salamancan People (UPSa) 6,6300.42New 0±0
Regionalist Unity of Castile and León (URCL) 5,3230.34–0.43 0±0
Castilian Left (IzCa) 3,9720.25New 0±0
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 3,0160.19–0.52 0±0
United Zamora (ZU) 2,5790.16New 0±0
Republican Left (IR) 2,4200.15New 0±0
Party of El Bierzo (PB) 2,2860.15–0.11 0±0
The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV) 2,1960.14+0.05 0±0
Leonese United Independent Citizens (CiuLe) 2,0510.15New 0±0
Humanist Party (PH) 2,0380.13–0.03 0±0
Zamoran People's Union (UPZ) 1,9980.13+0.02 0±0
Initiative for the Development of Soria (IDES) 1,9080.12New 0±0
Salamanca–Zamora–León–PREPAL (PREPAL) 1,6200.10–0.11 0±0
Independent Segovian Alternative (ASí) 1,3140.08New 0±0
The Phalanx (FE) 1,1970.08New 0±0
Regionalist Party of El Bierzo (PRB) 1,0410.07New 0±0
Liberal Centrist Union (UCL) 6520.04New 0±0
Independent Spanish Phalanx–Phalanx 2000 (FEI–FE 2000) 5560.04New 0±0
Spanish Democratic Party (PADE) 4650.03–0.19 0±0
Authentic Phalanx (FA) 2430.02New 0±0
Blank ballots 36,0272.30–0.37
Total 1,568,426 82–1
Valid votes 1,568,42699.14+0.09
Invalid votes 13,5570.86–0.09
Votes cast / turnout 1,581,98372.66+5.08
Abstentions 595,23927.34–5.08
Registered voters 2,177,222
Sources[12][13][14]
Popular vote
PP
 
 48.49%
PSOE
 
 36.77%
UPL
 
 3.85%
IUCyL
 
 3.45%
TC–PNC
 
 1.19%
Others
 
 3.96%
Blank ballots
 
 2.30%
Seats
PP
 
 58.54%
PSOE
 
 39.02%
UPL
 
 2.44%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency PP PSOE UPL
 % S  % S  % S
Ávila 59.4 5 32.1 2
Burgos 53.2 7 33.6 4
León 38.9 6 36.0 6 17.8 2
Palencia 48.6 4 41.6 3
Salamanca 51.7 7 36.8 4
Segovia 50.8 4 36.4 2
Soria 53.4 3 36.6 2
Valladolid 46.3 8 39.9 6
Zamora 50.8 4 36.5 3 3.0 −
Total 48.5 48 36.8 32 3.8 2
Sources[12][13][14]

Aftermath

Investiture
Juan Vicente Herrera (PP)
Ballot → 2 July 2003
Required majority → 42 out of 82 check
Yes
  • • PP (48)
48 / 82
No
34 / 82
Abstentions
0 / 82
Absentees
0 / 82
Sources[14]

References

Opinion poll sources
  1. ↑ "El sondeo de Sigma Dos determina una lucha codo a codo entre populares y socialistas en Madrid". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 25 May 2003. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Sondeo a pie de urna de Ipsos Eco Consulting para TVE". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 25 May 2003. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Preelectoral elecciones autonómicas, 2003. CA de Castilla y León (Estudio nº 2490. Marzo-Abril 2003)" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 17 May 2003.
  4. ↑ "La guerra pasa factura electoral al PP". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 May 2003.
  5. ↑ "Instituciones y autonomías, II. CA de Castilla y León (Estudio nº 2455. Septiembre-Octubre 2002)". CIS (in Spanish). 19 November 2002.
  6. ↑ "El PP, partido más votado en diez Comunidades Autónomas" (PDF). El Mundo (in Spanish). 19 November 2002.
  7. ↑ "El PP ganaría las autonómicas en diez Comunidades y el PSOE en cuatro, según el CIS". ABC (in Spanish). 20 November 2002.
Other
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ley Orgánica 4/1983, de 25 de febrero, de Estatuto de Autonomía de Castilla-León". Organic Law No. 4 of 25 February 1983 (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ley 3/1987, de 30 de marzo, Electoral de Castilla y León". Law No. 3 of 30 March 1987 (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985 (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Ley Orgánica 4/1999, de 8 de enero, de reforma de la Ley Orgánica 4/1983, de Estatuto de Autonomía de Castilla y León". Organic Law No. 4 of 8 January 1999 (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "Decreto 1/2003, de 31 de marzo, del Presidente de la Junta de Castilla y León, por el que se convocan Elecciones a las Cortes de Castilla y León" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (78): 12547–12548. 1 April 2003. ISSN 0212-033X.
  7. ↑ "El Parlamento. Legislaturas anteriores. V Legislatura". Cortes of Castile and León (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Sánchez Cuéllar, Jaime (28 February 2001). "Juan Vicente Herrera suple a Lucas tras diez años de gobierno en Castilla y León". ABC (in Spanish). Valladolid. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Juan Vicente Herrera, investido sexto presidente de Castilla y León". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 15 March 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  10. ↑ Forjas, Francisco (22 October 2000). "El PSOE espera evitar la expulsión del alcalde de A Coruña". El País (in Spanish). Soria. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "José Luis Conde encabezará la lista de Izquierda Unida por Valladolid". ABC (in Spanish). Valladolid. Agencias. 15 December 2002. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Elections to the Cortes of Castile and León". servicios.jcyl.es (in Spanish). Junta of Castile and León. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Cortes of Castile and León election results, 25 May 2003" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of Castile and León. 9 July 2003. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 "Elecciones a Cortes de Castilla y León (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 September 2017.
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