| Election Name: | 2003 Valencian regional election |
| Country: | Valencian Community |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1999 Valencian regional election |
| Previous Year: | 1999 |
| Next Election: | 2007 Valencian regional election |
| Next Year: | 2007 |
| Seats For Election: | All 89 seats in the Corts Valencianes |
| Majority Seats: | 45 |
| Opinion Polls: |
|
| Registered: | 3,423,098 |
| Turnout: | 2,447,224 (71.5%) 3.7 pp |
| Election Date: | 25 May 2003 |
| Leader1: | Francisco Camps |
| Party1: | People's Party of the Valencian Community |
| Leader Since1: | 10 July 2002 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Valencia |
| Last Election1: | 49 seats, 47.9% |
| Seats1: | 48 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,146,780 |
| Percentage1: | 47.2% |
| Swing1: | 0.7 pp |
| Leader2: | Joan Ignasi Pla |
| Party2: | PSPV–PSOE |
| Leader Since2: | 24 September 2000 |
| Leaders Seat2: | Valencia |
| Last Election2: | 35 seats, 33.9% |
| Seats2: | 35 |
| Seat Change2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 874,288 |
| Percentage2: | 36.0% |
| Swing2: | 2.1 pp |
| Leader3: | Joan Ribó |
| Party3: | Entesa |
| Leader Since3: | 1997 |
| Leaders Seat3: | Valencia |
| Last Election3: | 5 seats, 6.1% |
| Seats3: | 6 |
| Seat Change3: | 1 |
| Popular Vote3: | 154,494 |
| Percentage3: | 6.4% |
| Swing3: | 0.3 pp |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | José Luis Olivas |
| Before Party: | People's Party of the Valencian Community |
| After Election: | Francisco Camps |
| After Party: | People's Party of the Valencian Community |
The 2003 Valencian regional election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Corts of the Valencian Community. All 89 seats in the Corts were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
Despite growing discontent with the nationwide José María Aznar's government, the People's Party (PP) was able to comfortably retain its absolute majority in the Corts, losing only one seat compared to 1999, which was gained by the Agreement (Entesa) alliance led by United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV). The Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV–PSOE), while increasing its vote share in two percentage points compared to its 1999 result, failed to translate it into any new seats. Valencian Union (UV), the former PP coalition partner during the first Zaplana government (1995–1999), continued its decline into irrelevance and fell below 3%, depriving it of any possibility of overcoming the five percent threshold to enter the Corts.
Francisco Camps became the new president of the Valencian Government succeeding José Luis Olivas, who had replaced Eduardo Zaplana in 2002 after the latter was named Labour and Social Affairs minister in Aznar's second cabinet.
The Corts Valencianes were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the Valencian autonomous community, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[1]
Voting for the Corts was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Valencian Community and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 89 members of the Corts Valencianes were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Alicante, Castellón and Valencia, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 20 seats and the remaining 29 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the seat-to-population ratio in any given province did not exceed three times that of any other).[1] [2]
The term of the Corts Valencianes expired four years after the date of their previous election, with elections to the Corts being 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 Corts on Sunday, 25 May 2003.[1] [2] [3]
The Corts Valencianes could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament.[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 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] [3]
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 | Francisco Camps | Conservatism Christian democracy | 47.88% | |||||||
| PSPV–PSOE | Joan Ignasi Pla | Social democracy | 33.91% | |||||||
| Entesa | Joan Ribó | Valencian nationalism Socialism Green politics | 6.05% | |||||||
| BNV–EV | Pere Mayor | Valencian nationalism Eco-socialism Green politics | 4.53% | |||||||
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; 45 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Corts Valencianes.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | Lead | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 regional election | 25 May 2003 | 71.5 | 47.2 | 36.0 | 6.4 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 11.2 | ||
| Sigma Dos/Antena 3[4] | 25 May 2003 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | ? | |
| Ipsos–Eco/RTVE[5] | 25 May 2003 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | ? | |
| Insight/La Razón[6] | 19 May 2003 | ? | ? | 47.6 | ? | ? | – | – | ? | |
| Opina/El País[7] | 18 May 2003 | ? | ? | 46.0 | 38.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | |
| GES/PSPV[8] | 9–15 May 2003 | 2,000 | 72.6 | 44.0 | 39.9 | 6.7 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.1 | |
| Investratègia/Bloc–EV[9] | 9–11 May 2003 | 1,500 | 68.8 | 45.5 | 37.5 | 6.5 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 8.0 | |
| CIS[10] [11] | 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 | 2,096 | 80.0 | 41.9 | 37.9 | 7.4 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.0 | |
| Vox Pública/El Periódico[12] [13] [14] | 25–27 Apr 2003 | 800 | ? | 45.0– 46.0 | 36.5– 37.5 | 5.0– 6.0 | – | 4.5– 5.5 | 8.5 | |
| Demoscopia/PP[15] | 9–18 Dec 2002 | 1,200 | ? | 51.1 | 34.3 | 6.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 16.8 | |
| GES/PSPV[16] | 15–23 Oct 2002 | 3,000 | ? | 44.9 | 40.2 | 5.7 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.7 | |
| CIS[17] [18] [19] | 9 Sep–9 Oct 2002 | 730 | 76.6 | 47.7 | 34.1 | 6.7 | – | – | 13.6 | |
| GES/PSPV[20] | 10 Dec–25 Apr 2002 | 27,000 | ? | 46.1 | 37.8 | 5.9 | – | 3.3 | 8.3 | |
| GES/PSPV[21] | 10 Jan–10 Feb 2002 | 10,500 | ? | 47.5 | 38.4 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 9.1 | |
| Demoscopia/PP[22] | 26 Dec–10 Jan 2002 | 900 | ? | 52.1 | 33.1 | 5.4 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 19.0 | |
| Demoscopia/PP[23] | 1–8 Jul 2000 | 1,200 | ? | 51.8 | 31.0 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 20.8 | |
| 2000 general election | 12 Mar 2000 | 72.7 | 52.1 | 34.0 | 5.8 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 18.1 | ||
| PP[24] | 3 Jan 2000 | ? | ? | 52.8 | 30.3 | – | – | – | 22.5 | |
| 1999 regional election | 13 Jun 1999 | 67.8 | 47.9 | 33.9 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 14.0 | ||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | |||
| People's Party (PP) | 1,146,780 | 47.17 | –0.71 | 48 | –1 | ||
| Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV–PSOE) | 874,288 | 35.96 | +2.05 | 35 | ±0 | ||
| United Left–The Greens–Valencian Left: The Agreement (L'Entesa) | 154,494 | 6.35 | +0.30 | 6 | +1 | ||
| Valencian Nationalist Bloc–Green Left (Bloc–EV) | 114,011 | 4.69 | +0.16 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Union–Valencian Union (UV) | 72,557 | 2.98 | –1.70 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Republican Left of the Valencian Country (ERPV) | 7,609 | 0.31 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) | 3,884 | 0.16 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 3,189 | 0.13 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Regional Party of the Valencian Community (PRCV) | 2,868 | 0.12 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Humanist Party (PH) | 2,747 | 0.11 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Spain 2000 (E–2000) | 2,650 | 0.11 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Federal Republican Party (PRF) | 2,545 | 0.10 | +0.03 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Authentic Phalanx (FA) | 2,332 | 0.10 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 1,690 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Another Democracy is Possible (ODeP) | 1,156 | 0.05 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| National Democracy (DN) | 798 | 0.03 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Blank ballots | 37,805 | 1.55 | ±0.00 | ||||
| Total | 2,431,403 | 89 | ±0 | ||||
| Valid votes | 2,431,403 | 99.35 | –0.06 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 15,821 | 0.65 | +0.06 | ||||
| Votes cast / turnout | 2,447,224 | 71.49 | +3.68 | ||||
| Abstentions | 975,874 | 28.51 | –3.68 | ||||
| Registered voters | 3,423,098 | ||||||
| Sources[25] [26] [27] | |||||||
| Constituency | PP | PSPV | L'Entesa | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Alicante | 48.3 | 16 | 37.2 | 12 | 5.9 | 2 | |||||
| Castellón | 48.1 | 13 | 36.5 | 9 | 4.4 | 1 | |||||
| Valencia | 46.3 | 19 | 35.1 | 14 | 7.0 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 47.2 | 48 | 36.0 | 35 | 6.4 | 6 | |||||
| Sources | |||||||||||
| Investiture | ||||||
| Candidate | Ballot → | 18 June 2003 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 45 out of 89 | |||||
| Francisco Camps (PP) | ||||||
| Absentees | ||||||
| Joan Ignasi Pla (PSPV) | ||||||
| Joan Ribó (L'Entesa) | ||||||
| Sources | ||||||
| Motion of no confidence Joan Ignasi Pla (PSPV) | |||
| Ballot → | 4 October 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 45 out of 89 | ||
| Absentees | |||
| Sources | |||