2015 Navarrese regional election

The 2015 Navarrese regional election was held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect the 9th Parliament of the Chartered Community of Navarre. All 50 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

2015 Navarrese regional election

← 2011 24 May 2015 2019 →
elected members →
All 50 seats in the Parliament of Navarre 26 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	501,267 3.3%
Turnout	342,173 (68.3%) 0.9 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Javier Esparza Uxue Barkos Adolfo Araiz Party UPN GBai EH Bildu Leader since 30 November 2014 3 October 2014 11 October 2014 Last election 19 seats, 34.5% 8 seats, 15.4%[a] 7 seats, 13.3% Seats won 15 9 8 Seat change 4 1 1 Popular vote 92,705 53,497 48,166 Percentage 27.4% 15.8% 14.2% Swing 7.1 pp 0.4 pp 0.9 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Laura Pérez María Chivite Ana Beltrán Party Podemos/Ahal Dugu PSN–PSOE PP Leader since 14 February 2015 19 October 2014 6 March 2015 Last election Did not contest 9 seats, 15.9% 4 seats, 7.3% Seats won 7 7 2 Seat change 7 2 2 Popular vote 46,207 45,164 13,289 Percentage 13.7% 13.4% 3.9% Swing New party 2.5 pp 3.4 pp
President before election Yolanda Barcina UPN Elected President Uxue Barkos GBai

Regional president Yolanda Barcina, who had only came to power in 2011 after the establishment of a coalition government between the Navarrese People's Union (UPN) and the Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE)—which proved to be short-lived, as Barcina herself expelled the PSN from the cabinet in 2012 over disagreements with then-PSN leader Roberto Jiménez—announced on 10 November 2014 that she would not seek re-election for a second term in office. This came after a term that proved to become the most unstable since the Spanish transition to democracy, with Barcina's minority government being unable to pass any budget following 2012, with one failed motion of no confidence in 2013 and the scare of a new one in 2014 over a number of alleged corruption scandals besieging UPN.^[1]

After a spell of 19 years in power since 1996, the election saw UPN's support plummet to a low in popular support unseen since 1987, whereas the PSN scored its worst result in history after falling to fifth place. Both parties, together with the support obtained by the then-ruling party in Spain, the People's Party (PP), commanded just 24 seats, two short of a majority, allowing an alliance of Geroa Bai (GBai), EH Bildu and Izquierda-Ezkerra (I–E) with external support from Podemos to access the regional government and have GBai's Uxue Barkos elected as new president.

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of Navarre was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the Chartered Community of Navarre, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Reintegration and Enhancement of the Foral Regime of Navarre Law, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.^[2] Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Navarre and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Navarrese people abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado).^[3]

The 50 members of the Parliament of Navarre were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally.^[4]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Navarre expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Navarre (BON), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 22 May 2011, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 22 May 2015. The election decree was required to be published no later than 28 April 2015, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 21 June 2015.^[2][4][5]

The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Navarre 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 three-month period from the election date, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.^[2]

Background

The 2011 regional election had resulted in a coalition agreement between Navarrese People's Union (UPN) and the Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN), with UPN leader Yolanda Barcina being elected as President.^[6] However, tensions remained frequent between both coalition partners, and in June 2012, PSN-PSOE leader and then-Vice President of Navarre Roberto Jiménez' questioning of a UPN's decision to pass an additional budget cut of 132 billion euros resulted in his expulsion from Barcina's cabinet.^[7] The PSOE withdrew from the regional government, leaving UPN in minority.^[8][9] As a consequence, with the left-wing opposition commanding a majority in Parliament, political instability marked the remainder of the legislature, with the government being unable to pass its bills into law or to approve further budgets.^[10]

The eruption of the Caja Navarra scandal in early 2013, involving President Barcina and other UPN high-ranking members,^[11][12] resulted in an ill-fated attempt by Bildu and Aralar–Nafarroa Bai to bring forward a censure motion against Yolanda Barcina, which had no realistic prospect of succeeding because of PSN's abstention.^[13] Additionally, dissent within Barcina's party materialized with party Vice President Alberto Catalán forcing a leadership election in March 2013 which Barcina was only narrowly able to win.^[14] In February 2014, regional minister of Finance, Lourdes Goicoechea, was accused of influence peddling within the regional Treasury,^[15][16] prompting Roberto Jiménez to threaten Barcina with a censure motion if she did not voluntarily call for a snap regional election.^[17][18] The PSOE national leadership, however, explicitly forbade its regional branch from reaching any kind of agreement that needed Bildu's support, and Jiménez backed down on his threat as a consequence.^[19]

The PSN-PSOE was severely mauled in the same year European Parliament election, winning just 14.5% compared to the 31.5% it had won in 2009, and losing over half of its 2009 votes (31,629 compared to 63,848 in 2009). Roberto Jiménez resigned as PSN leader, being succeeded by María Chivite.^[20][21] The abertzale left represented under EH Bildu's flag, on the other hand, became the second political force of the community for the first time ever, with 20.2% of the vote.^[22]

Podemos' emergence in opinion polls marked the end of the legislature into 2015. Yolanda Barcina, who had initially expressed her willingness to stand for re-election as late as August 2014,^[23] announced on 10 November 2014 that she would not stand for a second term.^[24] A primary election was held on 29 November, in which incumbent Local Administration minister Javier Esparza defeated Alberto Catalán and became UPN candidate for the 2015 regional election.^[25]

Parliamentary composition

The Parliament of Navarre was officially dissolved on 31 March 2015, after the publication of the dissolution decree in the Official Gazette of Navarre.^[26] The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the Parliament at the time of dissolution.

Parliamentary composition in March 2015^[27]

Groups		Parties		Legislators
				Seats	Total
	Navarrese People's Union Parliamentary Group		UPN	19	19
	Socialists of Navarre Parliamentary Group		PSN–PSOE	9	9
	Bildu–Navarre Parliamentary Group		Bildu	7	7
	Aralar–Navarre Yes Parliamentary Group		Aralar	6	6
	People's Parliamentary Group of Navarre		PP	4	4
	Left Parliamentary Group		IU	2	3
			Batzarre	1
	Mixed Group		EAJ/PNV	1	2
			Zabaltzen	1

Parties and candidates

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 Navarre, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.^[4][5]

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
	UPN	List Navarrese People's Union (UPN)		Javier Esparza	Conservatism Christian democracy Regionalism	34.48%	19	Y	[24] [25]
	PSN–PSOE	List Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE)		María Chivite	Social democracy	15.85%	9	N	[28] [29]
	GBai	List Expanding (ZBN) Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) Villava Group (AT)		Uxue Barkos	Basque nationalism Social democracy	15.41%[a]	8	N	[30] [31]
	EH Bildu	List Create (Sortu) Basque Solidarity (EA) Aralar (Aralar) Alternative (Alternatiba)		Adolfo Araiz	Basque independence Abertzale left Socialism	13.28%	7	N	[32]
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Ana Beltrán	Conservatism Christian democracy	7.29%	4	N	[33]
	I–E (n)	List United Left of Navarre (IUN/NEB) – Communist Party of the Basque Country (PCE/EPK) – The Dawn. Marxist Organization OM (La Aurora (om)) – Republican Left (IR) – Feminist Party of Spain (PFE) Assembly (Batzarre)		José Miguel Nuin	Socialism Communism	5.71%	3	N
	Podemos/ Ahal Dugu	List We Can (Podemos)		Laura Pérez	Left-wing populism Direct democracy Democratic socialism	New party		N	[34]
	C's	List Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's)		Diego Paños	Liberalism	New party		N	[35]

Opinion polls

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.

Voting intention estimates

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; 26 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Navarre.

Color key:

  Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout										Lead
2015 regional election	24 May 2015	—	68.3	27.4 15	13.4 7	15.8 9	14.3 8	3.9 2	3.7 2	0.5 0	13.7 7	3.0 0	11.6
GAD3/Antena 3[p 1]	11–22 May 2015	?	?	? 15/16	? 6/7	? 8/9	? 7/8	? 3/4	? 0/1	–	? 6/7	? 1/2	?
GAD3/ABC[p 2]	17 May 2015	?	?	? 14/15	? 6	? 8/9	? 7	? 3	? 1	–	? 7/8	? 3	?
NC Report/La Razón[p 3][p 4][p 5]	17 May 2015	400	?	22.3 12/13	11.9 6/7	11.0 6	15.2 8/9	8.3 4/5	5.2 2/3	–	10.8 6	8.5 4/5	7.1
Gizaker/Grupo Noticias[p 6][p 7]	13 May 2015	800	76.2	24.3 13	11.5 6	17.9 10	16.1 8	4.4 2	3.1 1	1.4 0	14.3 8	4.2 2	6.4
CIES/Diario de Navarra[p 8][p 9]	5–7 May 2015	1,228	71	28.5 15/16	9.6 5	15.1 8	13.1 6/7	5.6 2/3	3.6 1/2	–	13.8 7/8	8.2 4	13.4
inPactos[p 10][p 11][p 12]	13–20 Apr 2015	508	?	25.5 14	14.5 8	12.5 6	15.0 8	4.0 2	5.5 3	–	13.5 7	5.0 2	10.5
CIS[p 13][p 14]	23 Mar–19 Apr 2015	789	?	20.8 11/12	11.2 6	10.0 5	12.5 7	6.7 3	5.1 2	0.5 0	19.9 11	8.7 4/5	0.9
CIES/Diario de Navarra[p 15]	14–17 Apr 2015	800	71	26.1 14/15	10.2 5	17.1 9	13.7 7	6.4 3	3.2 0/1	–	14.7 8	5.9 3	9.0
Herkap[p 16][p 17]	16–23 Mar 2015	400	78	22.5 13	10.4 5	7.8 4	17.3 9	9.5 5	6.4 3	–	13.9 7	7.7 4	5.2
Gizaker/Grupo Noticias[p 18][p 19]	9–11 Mar 2015	800	71.2	24.2 13	13.9 7	15.8 9	14.4 8	5.2 2	3.3 1	–	16.4 9	3.0 1	7.8
NC Report/La Razón[p 20][p 21][p 22]	2–11 Mar 2015	400	?	22.3 12/13	11.2 6/7	9.4 5/6	16.5 8/9	10.2 5/6	5.2 2/3	–	8.6 4/5	9.7 5/6	5.8
CIES/Diario de Navarra[p 23]	28 Nov 2014	?	?	? 15/16	? 6	? 4/5	? 9	? 1/2	? 2	–	? 12	–	?
Orbere/Parliament of Navarre[p 24]	3–7 Nov 2014	1,500	64.5	15.3 8	9.7 5	8.6 4	20.8 11	3.2 1	4.2 2	2.8 1	35.5 18	–	14.7
Llorente & Cuenca[p 25]	31 Oct 2014	?	?	? 15/17	? 7/8	? 7/9	? 7/10	? 3/4	? 2/4	–	? 0/1	–	?
Torrene Consulting/Gara[p 26][p 27]	13–31 Oct 2014	400	69.9	23.1 13	12.1 6	11.3 7	16.4 9	8.5 4	4.5 2	–	15.6 9	–	6.7
2014 EP election[p 28]	25 May 2014	—	44.5	–	14.5 (9)	2.5 (0)	20.2 (12)	25.1 (16)	9.5 (6)	4.6 (2)	9.3 (6)	1.8 (0)	4.9
inPactos[p 29][p 30]	21–26 Feb 2014	500	?	23.5 13	21.0 11	16.5 9	17.5 9	5.0 2	12.0 6	–	–	–	2.5
NC Report/La Razón[p 31][p 32]	15 Oct–12 Nov 2013	?	?	? 16/17	? 9	? 10/11	? 10	? 3	? 3/4	–	–	–	?
inPactos[p 33]	30 Sep 2013	500	?	28.0 15	19.5 11	16.0 9	14.0 7	5.0 2	11.5 6	–	–	–	8.5
Gizaker/Grupo Noticias[p 34][p 35][p 36]	8–13 May 2013	800	66.9	26.8 15	16.1 8	19.1 10	20.0 11	5.2 2	7.3 4	–	–	–	6.8
NC Report/La Razón[p 37][p 38][p 39]	15 Apr–10 May 2013	250	?	? 18	16.2 9	? 8	? 8	8.3 4	? 3	–	–	–	?
Geroa Bai[p 40]	9 May 2013	?	?	27.3 13/15	10.7 5/6	21.3 10/12	19.0 10/12	5.5 2/3	9.5 4/6	–	–	–	6.0
Gara[p 41]	23 Apr 2012	625	70	35.0 19	13.0 7	16.9 9	18.7 10	4.8 2	6.8 3	–	–	–	16.3
2011 general election	20 Nov 2011	—	68.9	[b]	22.0 (12)	12.8 (7)	14.9[c] (8)	38.2 (20)	5.5 (3)	2.1 (0)	–	–	16.2
2011 regional election	22 May 2011	—	67.4	34.5 19	15.9 9	15.4 8	13.3 7	7.3 4	5.7 3	0.7 0	–	–	18.6

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size										?	N	Lead
2015 regional election	24 May 2015	—	19.2	9.5	11.2	10.1	2.8	2.6	0.4	9.7	2.1	—	28.6	8.0
CIS[p 13]	23 Mar–19 Apr 2015	789	7.2	6.6	5.5	10.7	3.3	3.3	0.3	15.3	4.7	31.5	9.2	4.6
Gizaker/Grupo Noticias[p 19]	9–11 Mar 2015	800	10.5	6.9	11.0	9.5	2.3	3.1	–	16.0	2.3	20.1	13.8	5.0
Orbere/Parliament of Navarre[p 24]	3–7 Nov 2014	1,500	8.4	5.7	5.1	12.6	1.8	2.4	1.4	19.4	–	27.2	11.6	6.8
Torrene Consulting/Gara[p 26]	13–31 Oct 2014	400	10.9	5.7	3.6	8.9	3.9	2.6	–	10.4	–	14.1	38.5	0.5
2014 EP election	25 May 2014	—	–	6.6	1.2	9.2	11.5	4.3	2.1	4.3	0.8	—	53.6	2.3
inPactos[p 29]	21–26 Feb 2014	500	10.7	13.3	11.1	14.3	2.4	9.9	0.8	–	–	11.7	15.1	1.0
2011 general election	20 Nov 2011	—	[b]	15.4	9.0	10.4[c]	26.8	3.9	1.4	–	–	—	28.7	11.4
2011 regional election	22 May 2011	—	23.8	10.9	10.6	9.1	5.0	3.9	0.5	–	–	—	30.3	12.9

Victory preferences

The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size										Other/ None	?	Lead
CIS[p 13]	23 Mar–19 Apr 2015	789	10.0	9.0	6.9	11.3	3.5	3.2	0.3	17.3	4.7	9.0	24.9	6.0

Victory likelihood

The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size								Other/ None	?	Lead
CIS[p 13]	23 Mar–19 Apr 2015	789	47.9	4.5	2.2	2.4	3.1	4.7	0.1	1.2	33.8	43.2

Preferred President

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Government of Navarre.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size									Other/ None/ Not care	?	Lead
			Barcina UPN	Esparza UPN	Chivite PSN	Barkos GBai	Araiz EH Bildu	Beltrán PP	Nuin I–E (n)	Pérez Podemos
Gizaker/Grupo Noticias[p 7]	13 May 2015	800	–	8.8	5.8	22.5	7.8	–	–	5.1	4.9	41.8	13.7
CIS[p 13]	23 Mar–19 Apr 2015	789	–	7.3	4.2	18.5	7.4	1.8	2.3	3.7	3.1	51.7	11.1
Gizaker/Grupo Noticias[p 19]	9–11 Mar 2015	800	1.8	5.3	3.3	16.0	5.9	–	–	6.0	10.6	51.1	10.0

Results

← Summary of the 24 May 2015 Parliament of Navarre election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Navarrese People's Union (UPN)	92,705	27.44	–7.04	15	–4
	Yes to the Future (GBai)1	53,497	15.83	+0.42	9	+1
	Basque Country Gather (EH Bildu)	48,166	14.25	+0.97	8	+1
	We Can (Podemos/Ahal Dugu)	46,207	13.67	New	7	+7
	Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE)	45,164	13.37	–2.48	7	–2
	People's Party (PP)	13,289	3.93	–3.36	2	–2
	Left (I–E (n))	12,482	3.69	–2.02	2	–1
	Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's)	9,993	2.96	New	0	±0
	Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA)	2,304	0.68	New	0	±0
	Equo–European Green Party (Equo)	2,170	0.64	New	0	±0
	Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)	1,740	0.51	–0.17	0	±0
	Navarrese Cannabis Representation (RCN/NOK)	1,733	0.51	–0.47	0	±0
	Navarrese Freedom (Ln)	955	0.28	New	0	±0
	Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn)	880	0.26	–0.07	0	±0
Blank ballots		6,610	1.96	–0.56
Total		337,895			50	±0
Valid votes		337,895	98.75	–0.02
Invalid votes		4,278	1.25	+0.02
Votes cast / turnout		342,173	68.26	+0.83
Abstentions		159,094	31.74	–0.83
Registered voters		501,267
Sources[36][37]
Footnotes: 1 Yes to the Future results are compared to Navarre Yes 2011 totals in the 2011 election.

Popular vote UPN   27.44% GBai   15.83% EH Bildu   14.25% Podemos   13.67% PSN–PSOE   13.37% PP   3.93% I–E (n)   3.69% C's   2.96% Others   2.89% Blank ballots   1.96%

Seats UPN   30.00% GBai   18.00% EH Bildu   16.00% Podemos   14.00% PSN–PSOE   14.00% PP   4.00% I–E (n)   4.00%

Aftermath

Further information: 9th Parliament of Navarre and Government of Uxue Barkos

Investiture processes to elect the president of the Government of Navarre required for an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 24 hours later requiring only of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. If such majorities were not achieved, successive candidate proposals would be processed under the same procedure. In the event of the investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a three-month period from the election date, the Parliament would be automatically dissolved and a snap election called.^[2]

Investiture Uxue Barkos (GBai)
Ballot →		20 July 2015
Required majority →		26 out of 50 Y
	Yes • GBai (9) • EH Bildu (8) • Podemos (7) • I–E (n) (2)	26 / 50
	No • UPN (15) • PP (2)	17 / 50
	Abstentions • PSN (7)	7 / 50
	Absentees	0 / 50
Sources[37]

Notes

1. Results for NaBai 2011 in the 2011 election.
2. Within PP.
3. Results for Amaiur.