2015 Riojan regional election

The 2015 Riojan regional election was held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect the 9th Parliament of the autonomous community of La Rioja. All 33 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

2015 Riojan regional election

24 May 2015
All 33 seats in the Parliament of La Rioja 17 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	247,663 2.3%
Turnout	166,649 (67.3%) 2.5 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Pedro Sanz Concha Andreu Raúl Ausejo Party PP PSOE Podemos Leader since 2 October 1993 19 October 2014 23 January 2015 Last election 20 seats, 52.0% 11 seats, 30.3% Did not contest Seats won 15 10 4 Seat change 5 1 4 Popular vote 63,094 43,689 18,319 Percentage 38.6% 26.7% 11.2% Swing 13.4 pp 3.6 pp New party   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Diego Ubis Miguel González de Legarra Party C's PR+ Leader since 8 March 2015 16 December 1995 Last election Did not contest 2 seats, 5.4% Seats won 4 0 Seat change 4 2 Popular vote 17,042 7,277 Percentage 10.4% 4.5% Swing New party 0.9 pp
President before election Pedro Sanz PP Elected President José Ignacio Ceniceros PP

Reflecting a national trend, the governing People's Party (PP) and the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) both lost support, to the benefit of the new left-wing party Podemos (Spanish for "We can") and the centrist party Citizens (C's). The PP retained the largest number of seats, but lost its overall majority for the first time since 1995.

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of La Rioja was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of La Rioja, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Riojan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Autonomous Community.[1] Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in La Rioja and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Riojans abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado).[2]

The 33 members of the Parliament of La Rioja were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 5 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution.[1][3]

The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 1 percent of the electors registered in La Rioja. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.[3][4][5]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of La Rioja expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Parliament were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 22 May 2011, setting the election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 24 May 2015.[1][3][4][5]

The President of the Autonomous Community had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of La Rioja 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 Parliament was 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 deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.[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 given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 17 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of La Rioja.

Color key:

  Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout								Lead
2015 regional election	24 May 2015	N/A	67.3	38.6 15	26.7 10	4.5 0	4.2 0	1.2 0	11.2 4	10.4 4	11.9
GAD3/Antena 3[p 1]	11–22 May 2015	?	?	? 16/17	? 9/10	–	? 0/1	–	? 3/4	? 3/4	?
NC Report/La Razón[p 2][p 3][p 4]	17 May 2015	300	?	42.8 16/17	26.5 10/11	4.9 0	3.9 0	1.4 0	9.1 3/4	9.5 3/4	16.3
GAD3/Diario La Rioja[p 5][p 6]	6–12 May 2015	1,002	?	41.3 16/17	23.5 9	3.9 0	4.6 0/1	1.9 0	9.8 3/4	10.3 3/4	17.8
CIS[p 7][p 8]	23 Mar–19 Apr 2015	774	?	38.7 15/16	22.3 8/9	4.6 0	4.2 0	1.7 0	11.6 4	13.1 5	16.4
NC Report/La Razón[p 9][p 10][p 11]	6–10 Apr 2015	300	?	44.1 17/18	27.3 10/11	4.7 0	3.2 0	2.1 0	8.6 3/4	7.2 2/3	16.8
GAD3/Diario La Rioja[p 12][p 13]	19–27 Jan 2015	1,000	?	44.2 17/18	19.1 7/8	4.2 0/2	4.1 0/2	3.6 0	14.8 5/6	3.9 0	25.1
Llorente & Cuenca[p 14]	31 Oct 2014	?	?	? 14/16	? 9/10	? 2	? 1/2	? 2	? 2/3	–	?
2014 EP election[p 15]	25 May 2014	N/A	47.5	38.4 15	23.7 9	–	8.1 3	9.0 3	7.5 3	2.3 0	14.7
Infortécnica[p 16][p 17]	1 May 2014	334	?	51.2 18/19	25.6 8/9	4.7 1/2	4.7 0/2	14.0 3/4	–	–	25.6
GAD3/ABC[p 18][p 19]	17–28 Mar 2014	?	?	47.9 19	26.3 10	–	6.3 2	6.7 2	–	–	21.6
Celeste-Tel/PSOE[p 20][p 21]	11–18 Dec 2013	1,000	65.7	46.3 16/17	30.0 10/11	8.2 2/3	7.4 2	5.6 2	–	–	16.3
NC Report/La Razón[p 22][p 23]	15 Oct–12 Nov 2013	?	?	45.6 17/18	27.0 10	5.1 1/2	7.3 2	6.7 1/2	–	–	18.6
GAD3/Diario La Rioja[p 24][p 25][p 26]	30 Apr–22 May 2013	1,000	?	46.6 18	25.8 10	4.1 0	8.1 3	6.8 2	–	–	20.8
NC Report/La Razón[p 27][p 28][p 29]	15 Apr–10 May 2013	200	?	45.3 17/18	28.9 10/11	? 2/3	? 2	? 1/2	–	–	16.4
2011 general election	20 Nov 2011	N/A	72.8	54.7 20	31.1 11	–	4.6 0	6.0 2	–	–	23.6
2011 regional election	22 May 2011	N/A	69.8	52.0 20	30.3 11	5.4 2	3.7 0	3.6 0	–	–	21.7

Results

← Summary of the 24 May 2015 Parliament of La Rioja election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	63,094	38.62	–13.36	15	–5
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	43,689	26.74	–3.59	10	–1
	We Can (Podemos)	18,319	11.21	New	4	+4
	Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's)	17,042	10.43	New	4	+4
	Riojan Party (PR+)	7,277	4.45	–0.98	0	–2
	Change La Rioja–United Left–Equo (CR–IU–Equo)	6,797	4.16	+0.46	0	±0
	Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)	2,005	1.23	–2.33	0	±0
	Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA)	1,205	0.74	+0.40	0	±0
	Blank Seats (EB)	525	0.32	New	0	±0
	Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	481	0.29	±0.00	0	±0
Blank ballots		2,933	1.80	–0.92
Total		163,367			33	±0
Valid votes		163,367	98.03	+0.05
Invalid votes		3,282	1.97	–0.05
Votes cast / turnout		166,649	67.29	–2.47
Abstentions		81,014	32.71	+2.47
Registered voters		247,663
Sources[6][7]

Popular vote PP   38.62% PSOE   26.74% Podemos   11.21% C's   10.43% PR+   4.45% CR–IU–Equo   4.16% UPyD   1.23% Others   1.35% Blank ballots   1.80%

Seats PP   45.45% PSOE   30.30% Podemos   12.12% C's   12.12%

Aftermath

Investiture José Ignacio Ceniceros (PP)
Ballot →		1 July 2015	3 July 2015
Required majority →		17 out of 33 N	Simple Y
	Yes • PP (15)	15 / 33	15 / 33
	No • PSOE (10) • Podemos (4)	14 / 33	14 / 33
	Abstentions • C's (4)	4 / 33	4 / 33
	Absentees	0 / 33	0 / 33
Sources[7]

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Encuestas y resultados - elecciones autonómicas y municipales del 24 de mayo de 2015". GAD3 (in Spanish). 28 May 2015.
2. "El PP mantendría sin apoyos Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia y La Rioja". La Razón (in Spanish). 17 May 2015.
3. "La Rioja: Pedro Sanz revalidaría su bastión por sexta vez aunque peligre la mayoría". La Razón (in Spanish). 17 May 2015.
4. "La Rioja. Encuesta mayo 2015" (PDF). La Razón (in Spanish). 17 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
5. "La mayoría del PP pende de un hilo con 16-17 escaños en encuesta de La Rioja". Diario La Rioja (in Spanish). 17 May 2015.
6. "LA RIOJA, Mayo 2015. Sondeo GAD3". Electograph (in Spanish). 17 May 2015.
7. "Preelectoral elecciones autonómicas 2015. Comunidad Autónoma de La Rioja (Estudio nº 3076. Marzo-Abril 2015)" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 7 May 2015.
8. "Sánchez se lanza al ataque como "única alternativa a la derecha"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 8 May 2015.
9. "El PP seguirá siendo el más votado en las CC AA pese a la caída en apoyos". La Razón (in Spanish). 20 April 2015.
10. "La Rioja: El PP revalidaría su bastión en el Valle del Ebro desde 1995". La Razón (in Spanish). 20 April 2015.
11. "La Rioja. Encuesta marzo 2015" (PDF). La Razón (in Spanish). 20 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
12. "Podemos perfora el bastión del PP". Diario La Rioja (in Spanish). 1 February 2015.
13. "LA RIOJA, Enero 2015. Sondeo GAD3". Electograph (in Spanish). 1 February 2015.
14. "El reparto del poder territorial en España en 2015" (PDF). desarrollando-ideas.com (in Spanish). 31 October 2014.
15. "Proyección del resultado de las europeas en los parlamentos autonómicos". El País (in Spanish). 31 May 2014.
16. "La Rioja. Abril de 2014. Estudio de intención de voto" (PDF). Infortécnica (in Spanish). 1 May 2014.
17. "LA RIOJA, Abril 2014. Infortécnica". Electograph (in Spanish). 1 May 2014.
18. "Sanz daría al PP su sexta mayoría absoluta en La Rioja". ABC (in Spanish). 25 April 2014.
19. "Una encuesta publicada por ABC otorga la mayoría absoluta al PP en el Parlamento riojano". ABC (in Spanish). 26 April 2014.
20. "Una encuesta electoral del PSOE dibuja un Parlamento fragmentado en cinco partidos". Diario La Rioja (in Spanish). 6 January 2014.
21. "Una encuesta del PSOE abre la puerta del Parlamento regional a IU y UPyD". Rioja2 (in Spanish). 10 January 2014.
22. "El PP ganaría de nuevo en 9 de 13 autonomías". La Razón (in Spanish). 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
23. "Encuesta autonómicas NC Report noviembre 2013" (PDF). La Razón (in Spanish). 18 November 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
24. "El PP revalidaría la mayoría absoluta e IU y UPyD entrarían en el Parlamento". Diario La Rioja (in Spanish). 16 June 2013.
25. "EL PP conserva la mayoría absoluta en La Rioja (La Rioja)". Electómetro (in Spanish). 17 June 2013. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
26. "El PP conservaría la mayoría absoluta si se celebraran hoy autonómicas en La Rioja". Periodista Digital (in Spanish). 17 June 2013.
27. "El PP mantiene el poder autonómico". La Razón (in Spanish). 13 May 2013.
28. "Repite la mayoría absoluta: Castilla-La Mancha, Baleares, Castilla y León, Región de Murcia y La Rioja". La Razón (in Spanish). 13 May 2013.
29. "El PP ganaría en la mayoría de las autonomías (La Razón)". Electómetro (in Spanish). 13 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.

Other

1. "Statute of Autonomy of La Rioja of 1982". Organic Law No. 3 of 9 June 1982. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
2. Reig Pellicer, Naiara (16 December 2015). "Spanish elections: Begging for the right to vote". cafebabel.co.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
3. "General Deputation of La Rioja Elections Law of 1991". Law No. 3 of 21 March 1991. Official Gazette of La Rioja (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
4. "General Electoral System Organic Law of 1985". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
5. "Representation of the people Institutional Act". www.juntaelectoralcentral.es. Central Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
6. "Parliament of La Rioja election results, 24 May 2015" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of La Rioja. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
7. "Parliament of La Rioja elections since 1983". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Electoral History. Retrieved 30 September 2017.