1987 Spanish regional elections


Regional elections were held in Spain during 1987 to elect the regional parliaments of thirteen of the seventeen autonomous communities: Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile and León, Castilla–La Mancha, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre and the Valencian Community. 779 of 1,169 seats in the regional parliaments were up for election. The elections were held were held on 10 June.
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party remained the largest party overall, as well as in most regional parliaments. However, it suffered from a drop in popular support which saw it losing many of the absolute majorities it had obtained four years previously. As a result, several centre-right coalitions and alliances were able to oust the Socialists from government in four out of the twelve regional administrations it had held previous to the election. The main national opposition party, the People's Alliance, having suffered from an internal crisis and the breakup of the People's Coalition in 1986, also lost support compared to the previous election. Its former allies, the People's Democratic Party and the Liberal Party, stood separately in the regional elections but remained unable to capitalize on AP's losses.
Benefitting from the two main parties' decline was former Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez's Democratic and Social Centre, which became decisive for government formation in many regional assemblies. United Left, a coalition made up by the Communist Party of Spain and other minor left-wing groups, remained stagnant at the PCE's 1983 results.

Election date

Determination of election day varied depending on the autonomous community, with each one having competency to establish its own regulations. Typically, thirteen out of the seventeen autonomous communities—all but Andalusia, the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia—had their elections fixed to be held within sixty days from the day of expiry of the regional assemblies, together with nationwide local elections.

Regional governments

The following table lists party control in autonomous communities. Gains for a party are highlighted in that party's colour.

Opinion polls

Individual poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is 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. In the instance of a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded. in the case of seat projections, they are displayed in bold and in a different font.