The 2015 Riojan regional election was held on 24 May 2015 to elect the 9th Parliament of the autonomous community of La Rioja. All 33 seats in the Parliament were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

Reflecting a national trend, the governing People's Party (PP) and the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) both lost support, to the benefit of the new left-wing party Podemos (Spanish for "We can") and the centrist party Citizens (C's). The PP retained the largest number of seats, but lost its overall majority for the first time since 1995.

Overview Electoral system The Parliament of La Rioja was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of La Rioja, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Riojan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Autonomous Community. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in La Rioja and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Riojans abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote ().

The 33 members of the Parliament of La Rioja 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.

The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 1 percent of the electors registered in La Rioja. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.

Election date The term of the Parliament of La Rioja expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Parliament were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 22 May 2011, setting the election date for the Parliament on 24 May 2015.

The President of the Autonomous Community had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of La Rioja 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. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month 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 would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected lawmakers serving the remainder of its original four-year term.

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; 17 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of La Rioja.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Turnout Lead 2015 regional election 24 May 2015 67.3 38.6 26.7 4.5 4.2 1.2 11.2 10.4 11.9 GAD3/Antena 3 11–22 May 2015???? –? –??? NC Report/La Razón 17 May 2015 300? 42.8 26.5 4.9 3.9 1.4 9.1 9.5 16.3 GAD3/Diario La Rioja 6–12 May 2015 1,002? 41.3 23.5 3.9 4.6 1.9 9.8 10.3 17.8 CIS 23 Mar–19 Apr 2015 774? 38.7 22.3 4.6 4.2 1.7 11.6 13.1 16.4 NC Report/La Razón 6–10 Apr 2015 300? 44.1 27.3 4.7 3.2 2.1 8.6 7.2 16.8 GAD3/Diario La Rioja 19–27 Jan 2015 1,000? 44.2 19.1 4.2 4.1 3.6 14.8 3.9 25.1 Llorente & Cuenca 31 Oct 2014???????? –? 2014 EP election 25 May 2014 47.5 38.4 23.7 – 8.1 9.0 7.5 2.3 14.7 Infortécnica 1 May 2014 334? 51.2 25.6 4.7 4.7 14.0 – – 25.6 GAD3/ABC 17–28 Mar 2014?? 47.9 26.3 – 6.3 6.7 – – 21.6 Celeste-Tel/PSOE 11–18 Dec 2013 1,000 65.7 46.3 30.0 8.2 7.4 5.6 – – 16.3 NC Report/La Razón 15 Oct–12 Nov 2013?? 45.6 27.0 5.1 7.3 6.7 – – 18.6 GAD3/Diario La Rioja 30 Apr–22 May 2013 1,000? 46.6 25.8 4.1 8.1 6.8 – – 20.8 NC Report/La Razón 15 Apr–10 May 2013 200? 45.3 28.9??? – – 16.4 2011 general election 20 Nov 2011 72.8 54.7 31.1 – 4.6 6.0 – – 23.6 2011 regional election 22 May 2011 69.8 52.0 30.3 5.4 3.7 3.6 – – 21.7

Results + ← Summary of the 24 May 2015 Parliament of La Rioja election results → Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats Votes % ±pp Total +/− People's Party (PP) 63,094 38.62 −13.36 15 −5 Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 43,689 26.74 −3.59 10 −1 We Can (Podemos) 18,319 11.21 New 4 +4 Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's) 17,042 10.43 New 4 +4 Riojan Party (PR+) 7,277 4.45 −0.98 0 −2 Change La Rioja–United Left–Equo (CR–IU–Equo) 6,797 4.16 +0.46 0 ±0 Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) 2,005 1.23 −2.33 0 ±0 Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) 1,205 0.74 +0.40 0 ±0 Blank Seats (EB) 525 0.32 New 0 ±0 Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) 481 0.29 ±0.00 0 ±0 Blank ballots 2,933 1.80 −0.92 Total 163,367 33 ±0 Valid votes 163,367 98.03 +0.05 Invalid votes 3,282 1.97 −0.05 Votes cast / turnout 166,649 67.29 −2.47 Abstentions 81,014 32.71 +2.47 Registered voters 247,663 Sources

Aftermath InvestitureJosé Ignacio Ceniceros (PP) Ballot → 1 July 2015 3 July 2015 Required majority → 17 out of 33 Simple Absentees Sources

References Opinion poll sources

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