2015 Spanish local elections

2015 Spanish local elections

← 2011 24 May 2015 2019 →
67,515 councillors in 8,122 municipal councils 1,040 seats in 38 provincial deputations
Opinion polls
Registered	35,099,122 1.1%
Turnout	22,781,766 (64.9%) 1.3 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Mariano Rajoy Pedro Sánchez Pablo Iglesias Party PP PSOE Podemos Leader since 2 September 2003 26 July 2014 15 November 2014 Last election 26,510 c., 37.5% 21,783 c., 27.8% Did not contest Seats won 22,750 20,818 699 Seat change 3,760 965 699 Popular vote 6,057,767 5,603,112 1,689,254 Percentage 27.0% 25.0% 7.5% Swing 10.5 pp 2.8 pp New party   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Albert Rivera Cayo Lara Artur Mas Party C's IU CiU Leader since 9 July 2006 14 December 2008 27 November 2004 Last election 10 c., 0.2% 2,650 c., 7.4% 3,896 c., 3.5% Seats won 1,527 2,929 3,358 Seat change 1,517 279 538 Popular vote 1,467,663 1,447,402 670,891 Percentage 6.6% 6.5% 3.0% Swing 6.4 pp 0.9 pp 0.5 pp
Provincial results map for municipal elections

The 2015 Spanish local elections were held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect all 67,515 councillors in the 8,122 municipalities of Spain and all 1,040 seats in 38 provincial deputations.^[1] The elections were held simultaneously with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities, as well as local elections in the three foral deputations of the Basque Country and the eleven island councils in the Balearic and Canary Islands.

Background[]

After Podemos' success in the European Parliament election of 2014, the party decided not to directly contest the local elections scheduled for May 2015, but instead to focus on the regional and general elections to be held throughout 2015. Instead, they opted for the Guanyem Barcelona formula, popular unity municipal candidacies comprising different parties and social movements. The model was reproduced in many cities under the name Ganemos (Let's Win).^[2]

United Left, the traditional left-wing third party of Spain, also started debating on joining these local coalitions.^[3] However, this option was not well received by some party sectors, particularly their Madrid branch, who feared that the party would lose its identity if it joined these coalitions.^[4] The first attempt at a joint candidacy that included Podemos and United Left, among others, succeeded in Barcelona with Guanyem Barcelona, later Barcelona en Comú, under activist Ada Colau's leadership.^[5]

Another national party that decided to participate in most of these unitary candidacies was Equo,^[6] as well as minoritary parties like PUM+J, Socialist Alternative, Republican Alternative, ANOVA, or Initiative for Catalonia Greens.^[7][8][9] The unitary lists also included individuals from social movements like the anti-eviction PAH, 15M, o the so-called mareas (Spanish for "tides") made up of workers from different service sectors like teachers, Public Health System workers or young people forced to migrate as a consequence of the 2008–15 Spanish financial crisis.

Electoral system[]

Municipal elections

Municipalities in Spain were local corporations with independent legal personality. They had a governing body, the municipal council or corporation, composed of the mayor, the government council and the elected plenary assembly.^[10] Elections to the local councils in Spain were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years.^[11]

Voting for the local assemblies was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered and residing in the corresponding municipality 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. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Councillors were allocated to municipal councils based on the following scale:

Councillors of municipalities with populations below 250 inhabitants were elected under an open list partial block voting, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties: for up to four candidates in municipalities with populations between 100 and 250 inhabitants; and for up to two candidates in municipalities below 100. This did not apply to municipalities which, as a result of their geographical location or the convenience of a better management of municipal interests or other circumstances, made it advisable to be organized through the open council system (Spanish: régimen de concejo abierto), in which voters would directly elect the local major.^[10][11]

The mayor was indirectly elected by the plenary assembly. A legal clause required that mayoral candidates earn 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, a toss-up would determine the appointee.

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:

• At least one percent of the electors in municipalities with a population below 5,000 inhabitants, provided that the number of signers was more than double that of councillors at stake.
• At least 100 signatures in municipalities with a population between 5,001 and 10,000.
• At least 500 signatures in municipalities with a population between 10,001 and 50,000.
• At least 1,500 signatures in municipalities with a population between 50,001 and 150,000.
• At least 3,000 signatures in municipalities with a population between 150,001 and 300,000.
• At least 5,000 signatures in municipalities with a population between 300,001 and 1,000,000.
• At least 8,000 signatures in municipalities with a population over 1,000,001.

Electors were disallowed from signing for more than one list of candidates.^[11]

Deputations and island councils

Provincial deputations were the governing bodies of provinces in Spain, having an administration role of municipal activities and composed of a provincial president, an administrative body, and a plenary. Basque provinces had foral deputations instead—called Juntas Generales—, whereas deputations for single-province autonomous communities were abolished: their functions transferred to the corresponding regional parliaments. For insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, deputations were replaced by island councils in each of the islands or group of islands. For Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera this figure was referred to in Spanish as consejo insular (Catalan: consell insular), whereas for Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma its name was cabildo insular.

Most deputations were indirectly elected by local councillors from municipalities in each judicial district. Seats were allocated to provincial deputations based on the following scale:

Island councils and foral deputations were elected directly by electors under their own, specific electoral regulations.^[11]

Opinion polls[]

Municipal elections[]

Overall[]

City control[]

The following table lists party control in provincial capitals, as well as in municipalities above or around 75,000.^[14] Gains for a party are highlighted in that party's colour.

Provincial deputations[]

Summary[]

Deputation control[]

The following table lists party control in provincial deputations.^[1] Gains for a party are highlighted in that party's colour.

References[]