A regional election was held in the Region of Murcia on 27 May 2007 to elect the 7th Regional Assembly of the autonomous community. All 45 seats in the Regional Assembly were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.

Overview Electoral system The Regional Assembly of Murcia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Murcia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Murcian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.

Voting for the Regional Assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Region of Murcia and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 45 members of the Regional Assembly of Murcia 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 regionally. Seats were allocated to constituencies, which were established by law as follows:

District One District Two District Three District Four District Five

Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of one seat, with the remaining 40 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations.

Election date The term of the Regional Assembly of Murcia expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Regional Assembly were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 25 May 2003, setting the election date for the Regional Assembly on 27 May 2007.

The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Regional Assembly of Murcia 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 two-month period from the first ballot, the Regional Assembly was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected lawmakers serving the remainder of its original four-year term.

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 the Region of Murcia, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.

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

Candidacy Parties andalliances Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Vote % Seats PP Ramón Luis Valcárcel ConservatismChristian democracy 56.7% PSOE Pedro Saura Social democracy 34.1% (IU+LV)RM José Antonio Pujante SocialismCommunism 7.2%

Opinion polls 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; 23 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Regional Assembly of Murcia.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Turnout Lead 2007 regional election 27 May 2007 68.0 58.3 32.0 6.3 26.3 Ipsos/RTVE–FORTA 27 May 2007?????? TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3 19 May 2007?????? Celeste-Tel/Terra 9–15 May 2007?? 56.2 34.8 5.8 21.4 TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3 14 May 2007?????? Sigma Dos/El Mundo 27 Apr–8 May 2007 600? 58.8 33.1 4.3 25.7 CIS 9 Apr–6 May 2007 1,492? 57.2 33.1 6.2 24.1 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 16–24 Nov 2006?????? Emurtel/PP 25 Apr–3 May 2006 1,050? 56.3 33.9 4.7 22.4 2004 EP election 13 Jun 2004 49.1 58.9 36.4 2.8 22.5 2004 general election 14 Mar 2004 77.1 57.4 35.0 4.3 22.4 2003 regional election 25 May 2003 70.0 56.7 34.1 5.7 22.6

Results Overall + ← Summary of the 27 May 2007 Regional Assembly of Murcia election results → Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats Votes % ±pp Total +/− People's Party (PP) 379,011 58.30 +1.64 29 +1 Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 207,998 32.00 −2.11 15 −1 United Left+The Greens of the Region of Murcia ((IU+LV)RM)1 40,633 6.25 −0.98 1 ±0 Regional Citizens' Coalition (CCR) 8,139 1.25 New 0 ±0 Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL) 3,744 0.58 New 0 ±0 National Democracy (DN) 1,006 0.15 +0.11 0 ±0 Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) 774 0.12 New 0 ±0 Centrist Party (PCTR) 124 0.02 New 0 ±0 Blank ballots 8,642 1.33 −0.20 Total 650,071 45 ±0 Valid votes 650,071 99.24 +0.04 Invalid votes 4,972 0.76 −0.04 Votes cast / turnout 655,043 68.01 −1.97 Abstentions 308,178 31.99 +1.97 Registered voters 963,221 Sources

Distribution by constituency Constituency PP PSOE IU–LV % S % S % S One 55.2 5 33.0 2 8.6 − Two 57.4 7 32.2 4 4.7 − Three 61.6 13 29.8 6 5.9 1 Four 50.6 2 41.9 2 5.8 − Five 49.0 2 34.6 1 10.7 − Total 58.3 29 32.0 15 6.3 1 Sources

Aftermath InvestitureRamón Luis Valcárcel (PP) Ballot → 26 June 2007 Required majority → 23 out of 45 Abstentions Absentees Sources

Notes

References Opinion poll sources

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