| Election Name: | 2003 Aragonese regional election |
| Country: | Aragon |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1999 Aragonese regional election |
| Previous Year: | 1999 |
| Next Election: | 2007 Aragonese regional election |
| Next Year: | 2007 |
| Seats For Election: | All 67 seats in the Cortes of Aragon |
| Majority Seats: | 34 |
| Opinion Polls: |
|
| Registered: | 1,019,644 |
| Turnout: | 717,457 (70.4%) 5.8 pp |
| Election Date: | 25 May 2003 |
| Leader1: | Marcelino Iglesias |
| Party1: | Socialists' Party of Aragon |
| Leader Since1: | 15 February 1995 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Zaragoza |
| Last Election1: | 23 seats, 30.8% |
| Seats1: | 27 |
| Seat Change1: | 4 |
| Popular Vote1: | 270,468 |
| Percentage1: | 37.9% |
| Swing1: | 7.1 pp |
| Leader2: | Gustavo Alcalde |
| Party2: | People's Party of Aragon |
| Leader Since2: | 18 May 2001 |
| Leaders Seat2: | Zaragoza |
| Last Election2: | 28 seats, 38.2% |
| Seats2: | 22 |
| Seat Change2: | 6 |
| Popular Vote2: | 219,058 |
| Percentage2: | 30.7% |
| Swing2: | 7.5 pp |
| Leader3: | Chesús Bernal |
| Party3: | Chunta Aragonesista |
| Leader Since3: | 29 June 1986 |
| Leaders Seat3: | Zaragoza |
| Last Election3: | 5 seats, 11.0% |
| Seats3: | 9 |
| Seat Change3: | 4 |
| Popular Vote3: | 97,763 |
| Percentage3: | 13.7% |
| Swing3: | 2.7 pp |
| Leader4: | José Ángel Biel |
| Party4: | Aragonese Party |
| Leader Since4: | 2 June 2000 |
| Leaders Seat4: | Teruel |
| Last Election4: | 10 seats, 13.3% |
| Seats4: | 8 |
| Seat Change4: | 2 |
| Popular Vote4: | 79,670 |
| Percentage4: | 11.2% |
| Swing4: | 2.1 pp |
| Leader5: | Adolfo Barrena |
| Party5: | United Left of Aragon |
| Leader Since5: | May 2002 |
| Leaders Seat5: | Zaragoza |
| Last Election5: | 1 seat, 3.9% |
| Seats5: | 1 |
| Seat Change5: | 0 |
| Popular Vote5: | 21,795 |
| Percentage5: | 3.1% |
| Swing5: | 0.8 pp |
| Map Size: | 225px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Marcelino Iglesias |
| Before Party: | Socialists' Party of Aragon |
| After Election: | Marcelino Iglesias |
| After Party: | Socialists' Party of Aragon |
The 2003 Aragonese regional election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Cortes of the autonomous community of Aragon. All 67 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in 12 other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The election saw the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which had ruled Aragon since the previous election, becoming the largest party in the Courts for the first time since the 1991 election. The PSOE gains came at the expense of the People's Party (PP), which saw a drop of 7 points on its vote share. The Aragonese Union (CHA) made gains and overtook the Aragonese Party (PAR) as the third largest party in the Courts. For the PAR, this was the fourth consecutive election where it lost ground. United Left (IU) held its single seat, albeit with a slightly reduced vote share.
The PSOE and PAR maintained the coalition administration formed after the previous election. As a result, Marcelino Iglesias was re-elected as President of Aragon.
The Cortes of Aragon were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Aragon, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Aragonese 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 Aragon and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 67 members of the Cortes of Aragon 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 Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 13 seats and the remaining 28 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the seat-to-population ratio in the most populated province did not exceed 2.75 times that of the least populated one).[1] [2]
The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[3]
The term of the Cortes of Aragon 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 Aragon 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 under this procedure. 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 deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.[1] [5]
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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | |||||||||
| PP | Gustavo Alcalde | Conservatism Christian democracy | 38.21% | |||||||
| PSOE | Marcelino Iglesias | Social democracy | 30.81% | |||||||
| PAR | José Ángel Biel | Regionalism Centrism | 13.25% | |||||||
| CHA | Chesús Bernal | Aragonese nationalism Eco-socialism | 11.04% | |||||||
| IU | Adolfo Barrena | Socialism Communism | 3.86% | |||||||
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; 34 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Aragon.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | Lead | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 regional election | 25 May 2003 | 70.4 | 30.7 | 37.9 | 11.2 | 13.7 | 3.1 | 7.2 | ||
| Sigma Dos/Antena 3[6] | 25 May 2003 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Ipsos–Eco/RTVE[7] | 25 May 2003 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| C&J/El Periódico[8] | 12–17 May 2003 | ? | ? | 29.0 | 37.9 | 13.8 | 13.3 | ? | 8.9 | |
| CIS[9] [10] | 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 | 1,339 | 68.6 | 30.4 | 35.6 | 13.9 | 14.5 | 3.9 | 5.2 | |
| C&J/El Periódico[11] | 27 Apr 2003 | ? | ? | 28.0 | 38.1 | 15.2 | ? | ? | 10.1 | |
| CIS[12] [13] [14] | 9 Sep–9 Oct 2002 | 492 | 71.6 | 35.1 | 33.1 | 10.7 | 15.3 | 4.1 | 2.0 | |
| 2000 general election | 12 Mar 2000 | 71.4 | 47.2 | 31.1 | 5.4 | 10.4 | 3.5 | 16.1 | ||
| 1999 regional election | 13 Jun 1999 | 64.6 | 38.2 | 30.8 | 13.3 | 11.0 | 3.9 | 7.4 | ||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | |||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 270,468 | 37.94 | +7.13 | 27 | +4 | ||
| People's Party (PP) | 219,058 | 30.73 | –7.48 | 22 | –6 | ||
| Aragonese Union (CHA) | 97,763 | 13.71 | +2.67 | 9 | +4 | ||
| Aragonese Party (PAR) | 79,670 | 11.18 | –2.07 | 8 | –2 | ||
| United Left of Aragon (IU) | 21,795 | 3.06 | –0.80 | 1 | ±0 | ||
| The Greens–SOS Nature (LV–SOS)1 | 4,308 | 0.60 | +0.05 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Aragonese Initiative (INAR) | 1,703 | 0.24 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 1,300 | 0.18 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 1,056 | 0.15 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Republican Left (IR) | 519 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Humanist Party (PH) | 330 | 0.05 | –0.10 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Blank ballots | 14,874 | 2.09 | +0.01 | ||||
| Total | 712,844 | 67 | ±0 | ||||
| Valid votes | 712,844 | 99.36 | +0.07 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 4,613 | 0.64 | –0.07 | ||||
| Votes cast / turnout | 717,457 | 70.36 | +5.76 | ||||
| Abstentions | 302,187 | 29.64 | –5.76 | ||||
| Registered voters | 1,019,644 | ||||||
| Sources[15] [16] [17] | |||||||
| Constituency | PSOE | PP | CHA | PAR | IU | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S | data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S | data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S | data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S | data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S |
| Huesca | 42.4 | 8 | 29.7 | 6 | 10.0 | 2 | 12.3 | 2 | 2.6 | − | |||||||||
| Teruel | 34.8 | 5 | 33.6 | 5 | 7.6 | 1 | 18.2 | 3 | 3.7 | − | |||||||||
| Zaragoza | 37.4 | 14 | 30.5 | 11 | 15.7 | 6 | 9.7 | 3 | 3.1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Total | 37.9 | 27 | 30.7 | 22 | 13.7 | 9 | 11.2 | 8 | 3.1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Sources | |||||||||||||||||||
| Investiture Marcelino Iglesias (PSOE) | |||
| Ballot → | 3 July 2003 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 34 out of 67 | ||
| Absentees | |||
| Sources | |||