A regional election was held in Navarre on 25 May 2003 to elect the 6th Parliament of the chartered community. All 50 seats in the Parliament were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.

Overview Under the 1982 Reintegration and Improvement of the Chartered Regime, the Parliament of Navarre was the unicameral legislature of the homonymous chartered community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to grant or withdraw confidence from a regional president.. The electoral and procedural rules were supplemented by national law provisions..

Date The term of the Parliament of Navarre expired four years after the date of its previous ordinary election, unless it was dissolved earlier. If no snap election was called before the last year of the legislative term, the election decree was required to be issued no later than 54 days before the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Navarre (BON), with election day taking place on the fourth Sunday of May four years after the previous election.; ( by ). The previous election was held on 13 June 1999, setting the latest possible date for election day on the fourth Sunday of May four years later, which was 25 May 2003.

Amendments in 2001 granted the regional president the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Navarre at any given time and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election was due and some time requirements are met: namely, that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or during the last year of parliament before its planned expiration, nor before one year after a previous one under this procedure.. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a 30-day period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances did not alter the date of the chamber's next ordinary election, with elected lawmakers serving the remainder of its original four-year term..

The election to the Parliament of Navarre was officially called on 1 April 2003 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BON, setting election day for 25 May and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 18 June..

Electoral system Voting for the Parliament was based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Navarre and with full political rights, provided that they had not been deprived of the right to vote by a final sentence, nor were legally incapacitated.; ( by ).

The Parliament of Navarre had a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 60 seats, with electoral provisions fixing its size at 50. All were elected in a single multi-member constituency—corresponding to the chartered community's territory—using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with a three percent-threshold of valid votes (including blank ballots) regionally.; .

The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacant seats; instead, any vacancies arising after the proclamation of candidates and during the legislative term were filled by the next candidates on the party lists or, when required, by designated substitutes. ( by ).

Parties and candidates The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, alliances 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 10 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. ( by ).

Below is a list of the main parties and alliances which contested the election:

Candidacy Parties andalliances Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Vote % Seats UPN Miguel Sanz ConservatismChristian democracyRegionalism 41.4% PSN–PSOE Juan José Lizarbe Social democracy 20.3% IUN/NEB Félix Taberna SocialismCommunism 6.9% CDN Juan Cruz Alli Christian democracyRegionalism 6.9% EA–PNV Begoña Errazti Basque nationalismSocial democracyChristian democracy 5.4% Aralar Patxi Zabaleta Basque nationalismLeft-wing nationalismSocialism colspan="2"

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.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Turnout CDN PNV Lead 2003 regional election 25 May 2003 70.7 41.5 21.2 – 8.8 7.7 7.4 2.6 7.8 20.3 Sigma Dos/Antena 3 25 May 2003???? –??? – –? Ipsos–Eco/RTVE 25 May 2003???? –? – – – –? CIES/Diario de Navarra 7–13 May 2003 1,600 65 43.6 25.5 – 8.1 7.5 6.7 1.5 6.5 18.1 CIS 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 829 67.1 38.3 20.7 – 8.6 6.3 8.4 – – 17.6 CIES/Diario de Navarra 17–28 Feb 2003 1,212 65 40.6 23.7 10.4 6.4 5.7 7.4 2.1 3.2 16.9 Navcomtel/Parliament of Navarre 21–27 Oct 2002 1,600? 41.2 22.5 13.0 7.5 5.6 4.9 1.1 3.3 18.7 CIS 9 Sep–9 Oct 2002 443 67.3 43.9 21.0 8.7 8.6 4.8 5.1 3.3 – – 22.9 CIES/Parliament of Navarre 24 Sep–2 Oct 2001 1,300 68 44.2 24.0 8.1 6.6 5.4 6.4 1.2 3.8 20.2 2000 general election 12 Mar 2000 66.1 49.9 27.3 – 7.6 2.9 6.8 2.2 – – 22.6 1999 regional election 13 Jun 1999 66.2 41.4 20.3 15.6 6.9 6.9 5.4 – 21.1

Voting preferences The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size CDN PNV Lead 2003 regional election 25 May 2003 28.0 14.3 – 5.9 5.2 5.0 1.7 5.2 27.7 13.7 CIS 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 829 18.2 11.8 – 4.9 1.4 4.3 – – 43.4 9.7 6.4 Navcomtel/Parliament of Navarre 21–27 Oct 2002 1,600 24.8 13.5 8.1 4.8 3.6 3.1 0.6 2.0 32.2 3.9 11.3 CIS 9 Sep–9 Oct 2002 443 19.2 13.3 2.0 3.8 0.7 1.4 0.9 – – 41.0 14.2 5.9 CIES/Parliament of Navarre 24 Sep–2 Oct 2001 1,300 21.4 11.8 4.5 4.8 2.8 4.0 0.7 1.7 34.5 10.3 9.6 2000 general election 12 Mar 2000 33.1 18.1 – 5.1 1.9 3.1 1.4 – – 32.8 15.0 1999 regional election 13 Jun 1999 27.4 13.4 10.3 4.6 4.6 3.6 – 33.0 14.0

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 CDN Other/None Lead CIS 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 829 24.5 18.1 6.5 2.4 5.1 5.9 37.5 6.4

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 CDN Other/None Lead CIS 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 829 60.9 9.9 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.0 28.6 51.0

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/Notcare Lead CIS 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 829 25.1 13.1 5.0 8.1 5.2 3.0 40.5 12.0

Results + ← Summary of the 25 May 2003 Parliament of Navarre election results → Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats Votes % ±pp Total +/− Navarrese People's Union (UPN) 127,460 41.48 +0.11 23 +1 Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE) 65,003 21.15 +0.87 11 ±0 United Left of Navarre (IUN/NEB) 26,962 8.77 +1.89 4 +1 Aralar (Aralar) 24,068 7.83 New 4 +4 Convergence of Democrats of Navarre (CDN) 23,516 7.65 +0.79 4 +1 Basque Solidarity–Basque Nationalist Party (EA–PNV) 22,824 7.43 +1.99 4 +1 Assembly (Batzarre) 7,873 2.56 New 0 ±0 Humanist Party (PH) 1,290 0.42 New 0 ±0 Carlist Party (EKA–PC) 1,017 0.33 +0.04 0 ±0 Basque Citizens (EH) n/a n/a −15.58 0 −8 Blank ballots 7,304 2.38 +0.03 Total 307,317 50 ±0 Valid votes 307,317 93.52 −5.65 Invalid votes 21,292 6.48 +5.65 Votes cast / turnout 328,609 70.70 +4.45 Abstentions 136,217 29.30 −4.45 Registered voters 464,826 Sources

Aftermath Government formation Investiture Ballot → 26 June 2003 Required majority → 26 out of 50 Abstentions Absentees Sources

Notes

References Opinion poll sources

Other

Bibliography