A municipal election was held in Barcelona on 27 May 2007 to elect the 8th City Council of the municipality. All 41 seats in the City Council were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.

Overview Under the 1978 Constitution, the governance of municipalities in Spain—part of the country's local government system—was centered on the figure of city councils (), local corporations with independent legal personality composed of a mayor, a government council and an elected legislative assembly.; . The mayor was indirectly elected by the local assembly, requiring an absolute majority; otherwise, the candidate from the most-voted party automatically became mayor (ties were resolved by drawing lots).; . In the case of Barcelona, the top-tier administrative and governing body was the City Council of Barcelona..

Date The term of local assemblies in Spain expired four years after the date of their previous election, with election day being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. 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 State Gazette (BOE).. The previous local elections were held on 25 May 2003, setting the date for election day on the fourth Sunday of May four years later, which was 27 May 2007.

Local assemblies could not be dissolved before the expiration of their term, except in cases of mismanagement that seriously harmed the public interest and implied a breach of constitutional obligations, in which case the Council of Ministers could—optionally—decide to call a by-election..

Elections to the assemblies of local entities were officially called on 3 April 2007 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 27 May..

Electoral system Voting for local assemblies was based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age, registered and residing in the municipality 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), as well as resident non-national European citizens, and those whose country of origin allowed reciprocal voting by virtue of a treaty.; ; .

Local councillors were elected using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with a five percent-threshold of valid votes (including blank ballots) in each municipality.. Each municipality was a multi-member constituency, with a number of seats based on the following scale:.

Population Councillors <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 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..

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 an alliance 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 a determined amount of the electors registered in the municipality for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list. In the case of Barcelona, as its population was over 1,000,001, at least 8,000 signatures were required.. Amendments earlier in 2007 required a balanced composition of men and women in the electoral lists, so that candidates of either sex made up at least 40 percent of the total composition..

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

Candidacy Parties andalliances Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Vote % Seats PSC–PM Jordi Hereu Social democracy 33.6% CiU Xavier Trias Catalan nationalismCentrism 21.4% PP Alberto Fernández Díaz ConservatismChristian democracy 16.1% ERC–AM Jordi Portabella Catalan independenceLeft-wing nationalismSocial democracy 12.8% ICV–EUiA–EPM Imma Mayol RegionalismEco-socialismGreen politics 12.1% C's Esperanza García Liberalism colspan="2" Incumbent Joan Clos had initially intended to run for re-election, but his appointment as minister of Industry in the government of Spain under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero saw Jordi Hereu becoming new mayor in September 2006.

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; 21 seats were required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Barcelona.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Turnout Lead 2007 municipal election 27 May 2007 49.6 29.9 25.5 15.6 8.8 9.3 3.9 4.4 Ipsos/RTVE–FORTA 27 May 2007? ? 30.0 24.0 13.4 9.9 9.9 – 6.0 Opina/El País 16 May 2007 600? 36.0 22.0 15.0 11.5 11.5 – 14.0 Opina/La Vanguardia 7–16 May 2007 600? 34.9 24.5 13.4 9.9 12.3 3.5 10.4 GESOP/El Periódico 9–11 May 2007 800? 34.1 23.3 13.9 10.1 12.2 2.6 10.8 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 2–9 May 2007 500? 38.5 22.7 18.2 7.5 7.7 – 15.8 TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3 8 May 2007??????? –? Opina/Cadena SER 7 May 2007 800? 36.9 22.9 15.0 12.0 9.6 2.0 14.0 CIS 9–29 Apr 2007 991? 32.0 21.9 13.2 14.0 13.3 2.7 10.1 GESOP/El Periódico 3 Mar 2007? 50 33.0 24.0? 11.5? 2.0 9.0 2006 regional election 1 Nov 2006 60.6 24.3 29.5 13.3 12.1 12.0 4.5 5.2 GAPS/CiU 18–28 Sep 2006 800? 27.0–28.0 27.6–28.6??? – 0.6 GAPS/CiU 29 Nov 2005 800? 26.0 25.0 17.0 14.0 12.0 – 1.0 2004 EP election 13 Jun 2004 43.7 40.1 16.1 21.9 10.3 9.1 – 18.2 2004 general election 14 Mar 2004 77.9 38.1 20.0 18.1 14.6 6.9 – 18.1 2003 regional election 16 Nov 2003 66.7 30.6 28.0 15.2 15.6 8.5 – 2.6 2003 municipal election 25 May 2003 59.2 33.6 21.4 16.1 12.8 12.1 – 12.2

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

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Lead 2007 municipal election 27 May 2007 14.8 12.6 7.7 4.4 4.6 1.9 50.4 2.2 GESOP/El Periódico 9–11 May 2007 800 31.1 16.0 5.3 7.1 8.6 2.1 18.6 7.3 15.1 CIS 9–29 Apr 2007 991 22.8 16.6 4.6 8.0 10.1 1.5 23.6 10.1 6.2 GESOP/El Periódico 3 Mar 2007? 29.1 17.9 5.4 7.6 7.5 1.3 18.1 8.6 11.2 2006 regional election 1 Nov 2006 14.7 17.8 8.0 7.3 7.2 2.7 39.4 3.1 City Council 7–9 Mar 2006 800 24.7 14.7 3.4 9.9 5.5 – 25.2 10.5 10.0 City Council 14–16 Dec 2005 800 21.6 14.9 4.2 9.0 9.5 – 25.0 10.5 6.7 City Council 6–10 Oct 2005 800 27.7 12.6 5.0 9.1 8.3 – 24.1 10.1 15.1 City Council 6–8 Jun 2005 800 26.5 12.0 5.0 12.0 9.2 – 19.9 9.6 14.5 City Council 14–16 Mar 2005 800 28.7 11.4 5.7 8.6 7.1 – 21.0 11.2 17.3 City Council 1–3 Dec 2004 800 29.2 13.2 5.7 9.9 7.5 – 23.9 8.1 16.0 City Council 7–10 Sep 2004 800 29.2 12.4 5.3 10.2 8.8 – 22.7 7.9 16.8 City Council 16–21 Jun 2004 800 36.4 11.9 6.0 10.1 7.4 – 16.9 6.9 24.5 2004 EP election 13 Jun 2004 17.5 7.0 9.6 4.5 4.0 – 56.3 18.2 City Council 29–31 Mar 2004 800 30.5 14.9 5.6 9.6 9.2 – 23.1 5.5 15.6 2004 general election 14 Mar 2004 29.6 15.5 14.1 11.4 5.4 – 22.1 14.1 2003 regional election 16 Nov 2003 20.4 18.6 10.1 10.4 5.4 – 33.3 1.8 2003 municipal election 25 May 2003 19.8 12.6 9.5 7.6 7.1 – 40.8 7.2

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

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None Lead Opina/El País 16 May 2007 600 28.4 16.3 12.6 8.3 7.0 – – 18.7 12.1 CIS 9–29 Apr 2007 991 30.4 21.3 4.7 9.5 11.2 1.6 7.2 14.2 9.1

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

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None Lead Opina/El País 16 May 2007 600 69.1 6.5 3.9 0.8 0.4 – – 18.3 62.6 CIS 9–29 Apr 2007 991 57.4 15.2 1.3 1.2 0.3 0.1 0.8 23.6 42.2

Preferred Mayor The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become mayor of Barcelona.

All candidates

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None/Notcare Lead Opina/El País 16 May 2007 600 26.8 15.1 11.6 7.6 8.0 1.4 29.5 11.7 Opina/La Vanguardia 7–16 May 2007 600 34.0 22.0 5.0 7.0 9.0 2.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 GESOP/El Periódico 9–11 May 2007 800 30.0 16.4 5.1 9.4 11.4 3.0 24.8 13.6 Opina/Cadena SER 7 May 2007 800 25.1 19.1 9.6 8.9 7.3 1.5 10.7 17.7 6.0 GAPS/CiU May 2007 800 22.9 15.8 8.7 6.9 8.5 – 18.6 18.5 7.1 CIS 9–29 Apr 2007 991 23.9 15.7 3.3 7.1 10.6 – 4.5 34.8 8.2 GESOP/El Periódico 3 Mar 2007? 25.9 18.6 5.1 8.1 12.8 – 29.6 13.6 GESOP/El Periódico Sep 2006? 17.3 25.0 5.5 11.5 18.3 – 22.6 6.7

Hereu vs. Trias

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None/Notcare Lead GESOP/El Periódico 9–11 May 2007 800 50.1 32.5 17.4 17.6 GESOP/El Periódico 3 Mar 2007? 44.9 32.6 22.5 12.3 GAPS/CiU Mar 2007? 46.5 37.0 16.5 9.5 GAPS/CiU 18–28 Sep 2006 800 46.5 34.9 18.6 11.6 GESOP/El Periódico Sep 2006? 39.0 37.0 24.0 2.0

Clos vs. Trias

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None/Notcare Lead GAPS/CiU 29 Nov 2005 800 39.4 42.0 18.6 2.6

Predicted Mayor The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood for each leader to become mayor.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None/Notcare Lead Opina/El País 16 May 2007 600 68.6 5.8 4.1 0.5 0.6 0.4 20.0 62.8 Opina/La Vanguardia 7–16 May 2007 600 69.0 11.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 17.0 58.0 Opina/Cadena SER 7 May 2007 800 53.9 11.9 3.6 2.8 1.6 0.3 1.1 24.9 42.0 GAPS/CiU May 2007 800 63.2 7.6 0.8 1.2 0.6 – 2.8 23.8 55.6

Results