| Election Name: | 2023 Zaragoza City Council election |
| Country: | Zaragoza |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2019 Zaragoza City Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2019 |
| Seats For Election: | All 31 seats in the City Council of Zaragoza |
| Majority Seats: | 16 |
| Opinion Polls: |
|
| Registered: | 503,743 0.4% |
| Turnout: | 335,350 (66.6%) 0.8 pp |
| Election Date: | 28 May 2023 |
| Leader1: | Natalia Chueca |
| Party1: | People's Party of Aragon |
| Leader Since1: | January 2023 |
| Last Election1: | 8 seats, 22.0% |
| Seats1: | 15 |
| Seat Change1: | 7 |
| Popular Vote1: | 125,751 |
| Percentage1: | 37.9% |
| Swing1: | 15.9 pp |
| Leader2: | Lola Ranera |
| Party2: | Socialists' Party of Aragon |
| Leader Since2: | 19 February 2020 |
| Last Election2: | 10 seats, 28.0% |
| Seats2: | 10 |
| Seat Change2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 87,790 |
| Percentage2: | 26.4% |
| Swing2: | 1.6 pp |
| Leader3: | Julio Calvo |
| Party3: | Vox (political party) |
| Leader Since3: | 22 April 2019 |
| Last Election3: | 2 seats, 6.2% |
| Seats3: | 4 |
| Seat Change3: | 2 |
| Popular Vote3: | 41,061 |
| Percentage3: | 12.4% |
| Swing3: | 6.2 pp |
| Leader4: | Elena Tomás |
| Party4: | ZGZ/ZeC |
| Leader Since4: | 19 December 2022 |
| Last Election4: | 3 seats, 10.1% |
| Seats4: | 2 |
| Seat Change4: | 1 |
| Popular Vote4: | 19,381 |
| Percentage4: | 5.8% |
| Swing4: | 4.3 pp |
| Leader5: | Fernando Rivarés |
| Party5: | Podemos–AV |
| Leader Since5: | 15 July 2020 |
| Last Election5: | 2 seats, 6.2% |
| Seats5: | 0 |
| Seat Change5: | 2 |
| Popular Vote5: | 14,908 |
| Percentage5: | 4.5% |
| Swing5: | 1.7 pp |
| Leader6: | Daniel Pérez |
| Party6: | CS–Tú Aragón |
| Leader Since6: | 22 March 2023 |
| Last Election6: | 6 seats, 18.3% |
| Seats6: | 0 |
| Seat Change6: | 6 |
| Popular Vote6: | 5,530 |
| Percentage6: | 1.7% |
| Swing6: | 16.6 pp |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Jorge Azcón |
| Before Party: | People's Party of Aragon |
| After Election: | Natalia Chueca |
| After Party: | People's Party of Aragon |
The 2023 Zaragoza City Council election, also the 2023 Zaragoza municipal election, was held on Sunday, 28 May 2023, to elect the 12th City Council of the municipality of Zaragoza. All 31 seats in the City Council were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The City Council of Zaragoza (Spanish; Castilian: Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza) was the top-tier administrative and governing body of the municipality of Zaragoza, composed of the mayor, the government council and the elected plenary assembly.[1] Elections to the local councils in Spain were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years.[2] Voting for the local assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered and residing in the municipality of Zaragoza and in full enjoyment of their political rights, as well as resident non-national European citizens and those whose country of origin allowed Spanish nationals to vote in their own elections by virtue of a treaty.
Local councillors were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each local council.[1] [2] Councillors were allocated to municipal councils based on the following scale:
| Population | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| <100 | 3 | |
| 101–250 | 5 | |
| 251–1,000 | 7 | |
| 1,001–2,000 | 9 | |
| 2,001–5,000 | 11 | |
| 5,001–10,000 | 13 | |
| 10,001–20,000 | 17 | |
| 20,001–50,000 | 21 | |
| 50,001–100,000 | 25 | |
| >100,001 | +1 per each 100,000 inhabitants or fraction +1 if total is an even number |
The mayor was indirectly elected by the plenary assembly. A legal clause required that mayoral candidates earned the vote of an absolute majority of councillors, or else the candidate of the most-voted party in the assembly was to be automatically appointed to the post. In the event of a tie, the appointee would be determined by lot.[1]
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 a determined amount of the electors registered in the municipality for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. For the case of Zaragoza, as its population was between 300,001 and 1,000,000, at least 5,000 signatures were required.[2]
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 | |||||||||
| PSOE | Lola Ranera | Social democracy | 28.00% | [3] | ||||||
| PP | Natalia Chueca | Conservatism Christian democracy | 22.04% | [4] [5] | ||||||
| CS– Tú Aragón | Daniel Pérez | Liberalism | 18.27% | [6] [7] | ||||||
| ZGZ/ZeC | Elena Tomás | Localism Left-wing populism Participatory democracy | 10.08% | [8] | ||||||
| Podemos–AV | Fernando Rivarés | Left-wing populism Direct democracy Democratic socialism | 6.20% | [9] | ||||||
| Vox | Julio Calvo | Right-wing populism Ultranationalism National conservatism | 6.17% | [10] | ||||||
The tables below list opinion polling results 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.
The table below lists weighted voting intention estimates. Refusals are generally excluded from the party vote percentages, while question wording and the treatment of "don't know" responses and those not intending to vote may vary between polling organisations. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 16 seats were required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Zaragoza.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | Lead | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 municipal election | 28 May 2023 | 66.5 | 26.4 | 37.9 | 1.7 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 12.4 | 4.7 | 0.8 | – | 11.5 | ||
| GAD3/RTVE–FORTA[11] | 12–27 May 2023 | 1,100 | ? | 28.0 | 37.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 11.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | – | 9.0 | |
| 40dB/Prisa[12] [13] | 12–17 May 2023 | 800 | ? | 26.7 | 37.5 | 3.2 | 8.0 | 5.3 | 8.5 | 5.7 | – | – | 10.8 | |
| CIS[14] [15] | 10–26 Apr 2023 | 1,088 | ? | 26.9 | 36.4 | 3.6 | 8.6 | 5.6 | 8.6 | 5.6 | 1.0 | – | 9.5 | |
| A+M/Heraldo de Aragón[16] | 14–18 Apr 2023 | 800 | 66.2 | 30.7 | 39.5 | 2.3 | 9.3 | 5.8 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 1.2 | – | 8.8 | |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo[17] [18] | 14–17 Nov 2022 | 500 | ? | 29.0 | 39.0 | 3.8 | 9.3 | 4.6 | 6.9 | 5.7 | – | – | 10.0 | |
| SocioMétrica/El Español[19] [20] | 3–7 Oct 2022 | 600 | ? | 26.2 | 36.9 | 3.6 | 8.1 | 4.5 | 11.6 | 4.2 | 1.6 | – | 10.7 | |
| A+M/Heraldo de Aragón[21] [22] | 27 Sep–6 Oct 2022 | 900 | 68.8 | 26.0 | 39.6 | 3.7 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 6.4 | 1.3 | – | 13.6 | |
| A+M/Heraldo de Aragón[23] [24] | 4–18 Apr 2022 | 800 | 68.6 | 21.7 | 42.9 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 5.3 | 7.3 | 6.4 | 1.9 | – | 21.2 | |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía[25] | 13 May–6 Aug 2021 | 405 | ? | 24.5 | 35.7 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 5.1 | 8.9 | 6.8 | 1.6 | – | 11.2 | |
| A+M/Heraldo de Aragón[26] [27] | 15–16 Apr 2021 | 800 | 66.2 | 28.7 | 36.9 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 7.6 | 6.9 | 1.4 | – | 8.2 | |
| November 2019 general election[28] | 10 Nov 2019 | 72.5 | 30.0 | 23.2 | 9.6 | 17.3 | 4.9 | – | 12.0 | 6.8 | ||||
| 2019 municipal election | 26 May 2019 | 65.8 | 28.0 | 22.0 | 18.3 | 10.1 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 1.7 | – | 6.0 | ||
The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Lead | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 municipal election | 28 May 2023 | 17.4 | 25.0 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 8.2 | 3.1 | 0.6 | – | 33.4 | 7.6 | |||
| 40dB/Prisa | 12–17 May 2023 | 800 | 15.6 | 22.3 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 8.2 | 4.2 | 0.4 | – | 23.4 | 6.8 | 6.7 | |
| CIS | 10–26 Apr 2023 | 1,088 | 18.8 | 25.9 | 1.4 | 6.1 | 3.7 | 6.8 | 2.6 | 0.4 | – | 26.9 | 3.4 | 7.1 | |
| Fundación DFA/City Council[29] | 16 Feb–22 Mar 2023 | 2,025 | 10.3 | 18.4 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | – | 47.9 | 8.8 | 8.1 | |
| Fundación DFA/City Council[30] | 24 Oct–29 Nov 2022 | 2,030 | 12.5 | 18.1 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 0.0 | – | 40.9 | 10.0 | 5.6 | |
| Fundación DFA/City Council[31] | 6 Apr–16 May 2022 | 2,025 | 13.3 | 19.7 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 1.3 | 0.2 | – | 35.1 | 10.4 | 6.4 | |
| Fundación DFA/City Council[32] | 27 Oct–29 Nov 2021 | 2,025 | 12.1 | 18.4 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 5.8 | 1.0 | 0.1 | – | 38.0 | 9.2 | 6.3 | |
| Fundación DFA/City Council[33] | 10 May–11 Jun 2021 | 2,025 | 12.9 | 21.1 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 5.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | – | 31.5 | 10.4 | 8.2 | |
| Fundación DFA/City Council[34] | 9 Nov–2 Dec 2020 | 2,025 | 14.3 | 15.4 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 4.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | – | 35.0 | 10.7 | 1.1 | |
| Fundación DFA/City Council[35] | 25 May–2 Jul 2020 | 2,038 | 16.8 | 17.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | – | 28.8 | 13.8 | 0.9 | |
| November 2019 general election | 10 Nov 2019 | 21.6 | 16.7 | 6.9 | 12.5 | 3.5 | – | 8.7 | 28.7 | 4.9 | |||||
| 2019 municipal election | 26 May 2019 | 18.1 | 14.2 | 11.8 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 1.1 | – | 34.2 | 3.9 | |||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | |||
| People's Party (PP) | 125,751 | 37.88 | +15.84 | 15 | +7 | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 87,790 | 26.45 | –1.55 | 10 | ±0 | ||
| Vox (Vox) | 41,061 | 12.37 | +6.20 | 4 | +2 | ||
| Zaragoza in Common United Left–Let's Win Zaragoza (ZGZ/ZeC) | 19,381 | 5.84 | –4.24 | 2 | –1 | ||
| Aragonese Union (CHA) | 15,757 | 4.75 | +0.13 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| We Can–Green Alliance (Podemos–AV) | 14,908 | 4.49 | –1.71 | 0 | –2 | ||
| Aragon Exists–Exists Coalition (Existe) | 8,081 | 2.43 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Citizens–You Aragon (CS–Tú Aragón) | 5,530 | 1.67 | –16.60 | 0 | –6 | ||
| Aragonese Party (PAR) | 2,902 | 0.87 | –0.82 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Zaragoza Now (Zaragoza Ya) | 2,104 | 0.63 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Blank Seats to Leave Empty Seats (EB) | 1,641 | 0.49 | +0.26 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) | 699 | 0.21 | +0.14 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 601 | 0.18 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Federation of Independents of Aragon (FIA) | 370 | 0.11 | +0.05 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| We Propose for Minorities (Proponemos XM) | 188 | 0.06 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Blank ballots | 5,202 | 1.57 | +0.93 | ||||
| Total | 331,966 | 31 | ±0 | ||||
| Valid votes | 331,966 | 98.99 | –0.61 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 3,384 | 1.01 | +0.61 | ||||
| Votes cast / turnout | 335,350 | 66.57 | +0.76 | ||||
| Abstentions | 168,393 | 33.43 | –0.76 | ||||
| Registered voters | 503,743 | ||||||
| Sources[36] | |||||||