2019 Valencia City Council election

Summary

The 2019 Valencia City Council election, also the 2019 Valencia municipal election, was held on Sunday, 26 May 2019, to elect the 11th City Council of the municipality of Valencia. All 33 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, as well as the 2019 European Parliament election.

2019 Valencia City Council election

← 2015 26 May 2019 2023 →

All 33 seats in the City Council of Valencia
17 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered586,624 0.7%
Turnout389,057 (66.3%)
5.8 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Joan Ribó María José Catalá Sandra Gómez
Party Compromís PP PSPV–PSOE
Leader since 7 May 2010 12 January 2019 14 October 2018
Last election 9 seats, 23.3% 10 seats, 25.8% 5 seats, 14.0%
Seats won 10 8 7
Seat change 1 2 2
Popular vote 106,430 84,491 74,848
Percentage 27.4% 21.8% 19.3%
Swing 4.1 pp 4.0 pp 5.3 pp

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Fernando Giner José Gosálbez María Oliver
Party Cs Vox Podem–EUPV
Leader since 28 March 2015 21 April 2019 27 November 2018
Last election 6 seats, 15.4% 0 seats, 0.8% 3 seats, 14.5%[a]
Seats won 6 2 0
Seat change 0 2 3
Popular vote 68,293 28,139 16,176
Percentage 17.6% 7.3% 4.2%
Swing 2.2 pp 6.5 pp 10.3 pp

Mayor before election

Joan Ribó
Compromís

Elected Mayor

Joan Ribó
Compromís

The election saw the Coalició Compromís of incumbent mayor Joan Ribó score its first electoral win in the city in history, with the opposition People's Party (PP) under former regional minister María José Catalá scoring its worst result since 1987. This was also the first election since 1987 without the presence of Rita Barberá, the former PP mayor between 1991 and 2015 who had passed away in November 2016. The Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV–PSOE) recovered somewhat and clung into third place with 19.3% and 7 councillors. The election also resulted in a stagnation for the liberal Citizens (Cs), the entry of the far-right Vox party for the first time and the Unidas Podemos alliance—comprising both Podemos and United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV)—not reaching the minimum five percent threshold to be entitled to seat allocation.

With the left-from-centre parties—Compromís and PSOE—securing an overall majority of seats against the combined PP–Cs–Vox bloc, Ribó was able to be re-elected for a second term in office as city mayor.

Electoral system edit

The City Council of Valencia (Valencian: Ajuntament de València, Spanish: Ayuntamiento de Valencia) was the top-tier administrative and governing body of the municipality of Valencia, 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 Valencia 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]

Council composition edit

The table below shows the composition of the political groups in the City Council at the time of dissolution.[3]

Council composition in April 2019
Groups Parties Councillors
Seats Total
People's Municipal Group PP 10 10
Commitment to Valencia Municipal Group Compromís 9 9
Citizens Municipal Group Cs 5 5
Socialist Municipal Group PSPV–PSOE 5 5
Valencia in Common Municipal Group Podemos 3 3
Non-Inscrits INDEP 1[b] 1

Parties and candidates edit

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 were seeking election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. For the case of Valencia, 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 Gov. Ref.
Votes (%) Seats
PP
List
  María José Catalá Conservatism
Christian democracy
25.77% 10  N [5]
Compromís   Joan Ribó Valencian nationalism
Eco-socialism
Green politics
23.30% 9  Y [6]
Cs   Fernando Giner Liberalism 15.41% 6  N [7]
Podem–EUPV   María Oliver Left-wing populism
Direct democracy
Democratic socialism
14.53%[a] 3  Y [8]
PSPV–PSOE   Sandra Gómez Social democracy 14.00% 5  Y [9]
[10]
[11]
Vox
List
  José Gosálbez Right-wing populism
Ultranationalism
National conservatism
0.80% 0  N [12]

Opinion polls edit

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; 17 seats were required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Valencia.

Color key:

  Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls

Results edit

Summary of the 26 May 2019 City Council of Valencia election results
 
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
Commitment to Valencia: Municipal Commitment (Compromís Municipal) 106,430 27.44 +4.14 10 +1
People's Party (PP) 84,491 21.78 –3.99 8 –2
Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV–PSOE) 74,848 19.30 +5.30 7 +2
Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) 68,293 17.61 +2.20 6 ±0
Vox (Vox) 28,139 7.25 +6.45 2 +2
United We Can–United Left (PodemEUPV)1 16,176 4.17 –10.36 0 –3
Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) 3,209 0.83 –0.25 0 ±0
We Are Valencian in Movement (UiG–Som–CUIDES) 1,398 0.36 –0.35 0 ±0
Forward–The Eco-pacifist Greens (Avant) 687 0.18 +0.05 0 ±0
With You, We Are Democracy (Contigo) 513 0.13 New 0 ±0
Democratic People (Poble) 355 0.09 –0.60 0 ±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) 276 0.07 –0.04 0 ±0
Republican Left of the Valencian Country–Municipal Agreement (ERPV–AM) 270 0.07 New 0 ±0
For a Fairer World (PUM+J) 184 0.05 New 0 ±0
At Once Valencian Community (aUna CV) 164 0.04 New 0 ±0
Acting With You–Party for the Society (ACPS) 157 0.04 New 0 ±0
Blank Seats (EB) 135 0.03 –0.16 0 ±0
Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) 126 0.03 New 0 ±0
Valencian Democrats (DV) 118 0.03 New 0 ±0
Libertarian Party (P–LIB) 115 0.03 –0.02 0 ±0
Centered Progressives Coalition (UPyDCCD)2 110 0.03 –1.35 0 ±0
Let's Go (VMS) 90 0.02 New 0 ±0
Republican Alternative (ALTER) 63 0.02 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 1,526 0.39 –0.71
Total 387,873 33 ±0
Valid votes 387,873 99.70 +0.52
Invalid votes 1,184 0.30 –0.52
Votes cast / turnout 389,057 66.32 –5.80
Abstentions 197,567 33.68 +5.80
Registered voters 586,624
Sources[18][19]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
Compromís
27.44%
PP
21.78%
PSPV–PSOE
19.30%
Cs
17.61%
Vox
7.25%
Podem–EUPV
4.17%
Others
2.05%
Blank ballots
0.39%
Seats
Compromís
30.30%
PP
24.24%
PSPV–PSOE
21.21%
Cs
18.18%
Vox
6.06%

Aftermath edit

Investiture
Ballot → 15 June 2019
Required majority → 17 out of 33
17 / 33
 Y
8 / 33
 N
Fernando Giner (Cs)
  • Cs (6)
6 / 33
 N
José Gosálbez (Vox)
2 / 33
 N
Blank ballots
0 / 33
Absentees
0 / 33
Sources[20]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Results for VALC (9.82%, 3 seats) and EUPV–EV–ERPV (4.71%, 0 seats) in the 2015 election.
  2. ^ María Dolores Jiménez, former Cs councillor.[4]
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn Within Unidas Podemos.
  4. ^ a b c Within Podemos–Compromís–EUPV.
  5. ^ a b Within Podemos–Compromís.

References edit

Opinion poll sources
  1. ^ "Ajustada victoria de la izquierda en el Ayuntamiento de València con ventaja mínima de Compromís sobre el PSOE, según el sondeo en exclusiva de SyM Consulting". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 26 May 2019.
  2. ^ "#emojiPanel Ayto Valencia (24M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 24 May 2019.
  3. ^ "#emojiPanel Ayto Valencia (22M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 23 May 2019.
  4. ^ "#emojiPanel Ayto de Valencia (22M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 22 May 2019.
  5. ^ "#emojiPanel Ayto Valencia (21M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 21 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Encuesta GIPEyOP: Europeas y Locales 2019". GIPEyOP (in Spanish). 20 May 2019.
  7. ^ "El PSOE se reforzaría en Valencia, Zaragoza y Sevilla pese al auge de Cs y la irrupción de Vox". Público (in Spanish). 20 May 2019.
  8. ^ "#emojiPanel Ayuntamiento de Valencia (20M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 20 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Compromís y PSOE podrían gobernar solos". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 18 May 2019.
  10. ^ "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (19M): la izquierda consolida su dominio. Lucha PSOE-Compromis por la alcaldía". Electomanía (in Spanish). 19 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Compromís y PSOE podrían gobernar solos". El Mundo (in Spanish). 18 May 2019.
  12. ^ "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (16M): Compromís sube, deshace el empate y alcanza la absoluta con PSOE y Vlc En Comú". Electomanía (in Spanish). 16 May 2019.
  13. ^ "El PSOE logra el 'sorpasso' a Compromís y podrían gobernar sin Podemos". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 18 May 2019.
  14. ^ "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (13M): mascletá electoral con cuatro empatados en la primera plaza". Electomanía (in Spanish). 13 May 2019.
  15. ^ "La izquierda revalidará la alcaldía de Valencia con un pulso entre Ribó y Gómez". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 12 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Holgada mayoría de la izquierda en València con el PSOE como más votado". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 19 May 2019.
  17. ^ "La izquierda podría repetir gobierno en Valencia". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 2019.
  18. ^ "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (10M): Compromis, PSOE, Cs y PP siguen empatados". Electomanía (in Spanish). 10 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Sondeo: empate técnico entre PSPV y Compromís por el Ayuntamiento de València". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). 11 May 2019.
  20. ^ "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (7M): Cuádruple empate a concejales Compromis-Cs-PSOE-PP". Electomanía (in Spanish). 7 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Estimaciones de voto en Comunidades Autónomas y grandes ciudades (Estudio nº 3245. Marzo-abril 2019)" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 9 May 2019.
  22. ^ "ElectoPanel municipal (12A): muchas ciudades pendientes de un concejal". Electomanía (in Spanish). 12 April 2019.
  23. ^ "ElectoPanel municipales (4A): Madrid en Pie no consigue entrar en el Ayuntamiento". Electomanía (in Spanish). 4 April 2019.
  24. ^ "ElectoPanel Municipales (28M). Mayorías ajustadas en varias ciudades". Electomanía (in Spanish). 28 March 2019.
  25. ^ "ElectoPanel para municipales (21M): situación estable en la última semana". Electomanía (in Spanish). 21 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Especial Valencia: la izquierda en apuros para mantener la alcaldía". Electomanía (in Spanish). 19 March 2019.
  27. ^ "ElectoPanel grandes áreas metropolitanas 14M: la izquierda resiste en Valencia, Madrid se le escapa a Carmena". Electomanía (in Spanish). 14 March 2019.
  28. ^ "ElectoPanel municipal: distintas mayorías posibles y mucha igualdad en varias ciudades". Electomanía (in Spanish). 7 March 2019.
  29. ^ "Las derechas suman mayoría absoluta y Vox supera ya a Ciudadanos en València según el sondeo de El Periódico de Aquí". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 8 March 2019.
  30. ^ "Sondeo: empate en València con Català (PP) y Gómez (PSPV) como alcaldables". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). 22 January 2019.
  31. ^ "Un sondeo de Compromís garantiza a Ribó la alcaldía de Valencia con Cs por encima del PP". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 24 January 2019.
  32. ^ "PP y Ciudadanos rozarían la mayoría absoluta en València y Vox lograría 3 ediles". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 3 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Sondeo València: El PSOE arrasa y es la fuerza más votada y Vox, a las puertas de lograr representación". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 2 November 2018.
  34. ^ "Baròmetre municipal d'opinió ciutadana Maig 2018" (PDF). City Council of Valencia (in Catalan). 29 May 2018.
  35. ^ "VALENCIA. Elecciones municipales. Encuesta Sonmerca para el Ayuntamiento de Valencia. Mayo 2018". Electograph (in Spanish). 29 May 2018.
  36. ^ "Cs sobrepasa al PP y alcanza a Compromís en número de concejales". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 13 May 2018.
  37. ^ "Ribó sería hoy el más votado pero perdería la Alcaldía por la suma de PP y Ciudadanos". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 18 February 2018.
  38. ^ "Ribó y sus socios mantienen apoyos tras dos años de gestión". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 14 May 2017.
Other
  1. ^ a b c "Ley 7/1985, de 2 de abril, Reguladora de las Bases del Régimen Local". Law No. 7 of 2 April 1985 (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985 (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Grups Polítics Corporació 2015-2019". City Council of Valencia (in Valencian). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. ^ Navarro Castelló, Carlos (30 November 2018). "Ciudadanos suspende de militancia a la concejala de València María Dolores Jiménez". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  5. ^ "María José Catalá será la candidata del PP a la alcaldía de Valencia". El Confidencial (in Spanish). EFE. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  6. ^ Toledo, Cristóbal (1 October 2018). "Las primarias de Compromís, una carrera para elegir al relevo de Ribó". El Mundo (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  7. ^ Gozalbo, Marta (9 March 2019). "Fernando Giner, candidato oficial de Ciudadanos a la Alcaldía de València". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  8. ^ Plaza, Pablo (27 November 2018). "María Oliver barre en las primarias y será la candidata de Podem a la Alcaldía de València". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  9. ^ Romero, Víctor (4 February 2018). "Sandra Gómez gana las primarias del PSOE en Valencia y asesta una derrota a Ábalos". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Sandra Gómez presenta 158 avales para ser candidata del PSPV a la Alcaldía de València en 2019". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). Valencia. Europa Press. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Sandra Gómez, arropada por Sánchez en su proclamación". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). EFE. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  12. ^ "El abogado de Vox José Gosálbez, candidato a la Alcaldía de Valencia". El Mundo (in Spanish). Valencia. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Elecciones 2019 - Província de Valencia / València - Municipi de València". resultats2019.gva.es (in Spanish). Valencian Government. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Electoral Results Consultation. Congress. April 2019. Valencia Municipality". Ministry of the Interior (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  15. ^ "VALENCIA. Elecciones municipales. Encuesta SigmaDos para Las Provincias. Abril 2018". Electograph (in Spanish). 13 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Electoral Results Consultation. Congress. June 2016. Valencia Municipality". Ministry of the Interior (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Electoral Results Consultation. Congress. December 2015. Valencia Municipality". Ministry of the Interior (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Local election results, 26 May 2019, in Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid, Zamora, Zaragoza, Ceuta and Melilla provinces" (PDF). Central Electoral Commission (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Electoral Results Consultation. Municipal. May 2019. Valencia Municipality". Ministry of the Interior (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  20. ^ "Joan Ribó, alcalde de Valencia". Las Provincias. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.