2007 Valencian regional election
A regional election was held in the Valencian Community on Sunday, 27 May 2007, to elect the 7th Corts of the autonomous community. All 99 seats in the Corts were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.
As in the three previous elections, the People's Party with an increased absolute majority of seats, as well as winning an absolute majority of votes, the first and only time to date the party has reached this threshold, and only the second time since 1983 that any party has achieved this feat. The PP increased its vote share by more than 5% and gained six of the additional ten seats in the parliament, enlarged as a result of 2006 amendments to the regional Statute of Autonomy, all but ensuring incumbent president Francisco Camps's re-election for a second term in office. The Socialist Party of the Valencian Country gained three seats despite seeing its vote share decrease by one point. This came as a result of the enlarged parliament, but the new election defeat and the below-expectations result for the party led to PSPV leader Joan Ignasi Pla to announce that he would step down as party secretary-general in the next congress.
The Valencian Nationalist Bloc, whose performance in the previous election brought it within 0.3% of reaching the five percent threshold, had formed an electoral alliance with United Left of the Valencian Country under the name Commitment for the Valencian Country. This combined list, which also included smaller Green and left-wing groups, saw the Bloc gain its first seat representation in the Corts, though the combined vote for both EUPV and Bloc was considerably lesser than what both had polled separately in 2003.
Overview
Under the 1982 Statute of Autonomy, the Corts Valencianes were the unicameral legislature of the Valencian Community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.Electoral system
Voting for the Corts was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Valencian Community and in full enjoyment of their political rights, provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote. Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 required for Spaniards abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote.The Corts Valencianes were entitled to a minimum of 99 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at that number. All members were elected in three multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Alicante, Castellón and Valencia, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 20 seats and the remaining 39 being distributed in proportion to their populations —using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes being applied regionally.
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Corts constituency was entitled the following seats:
| Seats | Constituencies |
| 40 | Valencia |
| 35 | Alicante |
| 24 | Castellón |
The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in the list and, when required, by the designated substitutes.
Election date
The term of the Corts Valencianes expired four years after the date of their previous election, with election day being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. Amendments in 2006 would allow the term of the Corts to expire after an early dissolution, but these were to take effect after the 2007 election. The previous election was 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.The Corts could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament, except in the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, after which they were to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.
The Corts Valencianes were officially dissolved on 3 April 2007 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the DOGV, setting election day for 27 May and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 14 June.
Outgoing parliament
The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.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 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 constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Amendments to the electoral law in 2007 introduced requirements for 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 electoral alliances which contested the election:
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 the percentages in a smaller font; 50 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Corts Valencianes.Voting preferences
The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.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 | |||||
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Other/ None | Lead | |||||
| Opina/Cadena SER | 13 May 2007 | 1,000 | 42.8 | 33.4 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 7.7 | 13.8 | 9.4 |
| CIS | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,797 | 42.4 | 29.5 | 0.9 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 14.4 | 12.9 |
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 | |||||
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Other/ None | Lead | |||||
| Opina/Cadena SER | 13 May 2007 | 1,000 | 73.0 | 7.6 | – | – | 0.1 | 19.3 | 65.4 |
| CIS | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,797 | 67.1 | 11.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 20.8 | 55.8 |
Preferred President
The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Valencian Government.| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Other/ None/ Not care | Lead | |||||
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Other/ None/ Not care | Lead | |||||
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Camps | Pla | Marcos | Miralles | Other/ None/ Not care | Lead | |
| Opina/Cadena SER | 13 May 2007 | 1,000 | 45.6 | 29.0 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 7.0 | 15.2 | 16.6 |
| Noxa/La Vanguardia | 2–7 May 2007 | 800 | 51.0 | 17.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 18.0 | 10.0 | 34.0 |
| CIS | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,797 | 46.7 | 24.6 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 22.2 | 22.1 |
Predicted President
The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood for each leader to become president of the Valencian Government.| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Other/ None/ Not care | Lead | ||||
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Other/ None/ Not care | Lead | ||||
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Camps | Pla | Marcos | Other/ None/ Not care | Lead | |
| Opina/Cadena SER | 13 May 2007 | 1,000 | 76.8 | 7.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 14.7 | 69.1 |