The 2023 Riojan regional election was held on 28 May 2023 to elect the 11th 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 eleven other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

The election saw the People's Party (PP) winning an absolute majority of seats which, under Gonzalo Capellán, ousted the incumbent coalition government of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos led by Concha Andreu. The election also saw the entry into parliament of far-right Vox, which secured more votes than required to reach the election threshold of five percent, whereas the Riojan Party (PR) failed to secure the threshold for the third time in a row.

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 regional president. 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. Amendments to the electoral law in 2022 abolished the "begged" or expat vote system (), under which Spaniards abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote. The expat vote system was attributed responsibility for a major decrease in the turnout of Spaniards abroad during the years it had been in force.

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.

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 26 May 2019, setting the election date for the Parliament on 28 May 2023.

The president 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.

The election to the Parliament of La Rioja was officially triggered on 4 April 2023 after the publication of the election decree in the Official Gazette of La Rioja (BOR), scheduling for the chamber to convene on 22 June.

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 La Rioja, 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 PSOE Concha Andreu Social democracy 38.7% PP Gonzalo Capellán ConservatismChristian democracy 33.1% CS Ángel Daniel Íñiguez Liberalism 11.5% Podemos–IU Henar Moreno Left-wing populismDirect democracyDemocratic socialism 6.6% PR+EV Inmaculada Sáenz RegionalismProgressivism 4.6% Vox Ángel Alda Right-wing populismUltranationalismNational conservatism 3.9%

Campaign Debates + 2023 Riojan regional election debates Date Organizer(s) Moderator(s) PSOE PP CS UP PR+EV Vox PLRi Audience 24 May TVR Carlos Santamaría TBD

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.

Graphical summary

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

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Turnout PLRi Lead 2023 regional election 28 May 2023 67.8 31.9 45.4 0.9 5.1 3.6 7.6 2.6 13.5 NC Report/La Razón 22 May 2023?? 33.8 43.1 – 5.4 6.0 6.7 – 9.3 KeyData/Público 18 May 2023? 69.7 34.8 42.5 2.2 5.5 4.9 6.5 – 7.7 EM-Analytics/El Plural 11–17 May 2023 600? 37.0 39.7 2.1 5.2 5.2 6.8 3.0 2.7 EM-Analytics/El Plural 4–10 May 2023 600? 37.3 39.3 2.3 5.3 5.5 6.7 3.1 2.0 SW Demoscopia/Cadena SER 24 Apr–5 May 2023 1,741? 39.7 39.9 1.1 5.5 3.6 5.9 1.1 0.2 GAD3/ABC 28 Apr–3 May 2023 1,004? 34.0 42.1 – 5.5 5.1 7.9 – 8.1 EM-Analytics/El Plural 26 Apr–3 May 2023 600? 37.6 42.0 2.4 5.4 5.5 6.1 2.9 4.4 Simple Lógica/elDiario.es 18–26 Apr 2023 457? 35.6 41.2 1.4 6.8 5.4 7.1 – 5.6 CIS 10–26 Apr 2023 466? 36.8 39.2 2.5 9.9 3.6 5.6 – 2.4 EM-Analytics/El Plural 19–25 Apr 2023 600? 36.1 40.8 2.5 5.2 5.4 5.9 3.7 4.7 EM-Analytics/El Plural 12–18 Apr 2023 600? 36.2 41.6 2.5 5.4 5.3 5.9 2.9 5.4 EM-Analytics/El Plural 5–11 Apr 2023 600? 36.5 41.1 2.3 6.0 5.2 6.0 2.8 4.6 EM-Analytics/El Plural 27 Mar–4 Apr 2023 600? 37.4 42.5 2.8 5.8 5.4 6.0 – 5.1 KeyData/Público 3 Apr 2023? 69.7 34.6 42.6 2.6 5.4 5.7 6.3 – 8.0 Sigma Dos/PP 14–23 Mar 2023 1,300? 32.8 41.6 2.0 5.7 5.3 6.9 1.5 8.8 NC Report/La Razón 27 Feb–3 Mar 2023? 66.3 34.3 43.3 2.5 5.3 6.6 5.9 – 9.0 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 20–26 Jan 2023 730? 34.2 41.8 2.8 6.1 4.3 7.4 – 7.6 GAD3/PP 19–25 Jan 2023 1,357? 35.4 43.3 2.8 4.7 5.4 6.3 – 7.9 SW Demoscopia/PSOE 14 Dec–12 Jan 2023 1,750? 41.9 39.3 0.8 3.0 2.2 5.2 – 2.6 EM-Analytics/Electomanía 30 Oct–13 Dec 2022 91? 39.8 39.5 3.0 7.2 4.3 6.2 – 0.3 CIS 17 Nov–2 Dec 2022 191? 44.9 32.7 0.6 6.3 0.6 5.7 – 12.2 NueveCuatroUno 1 May 2022?? 31.0 47.0 3.9 5.4 6.5 6.3 – 16.0 EM-Analytics/Electomanía 31 Jan–14 Mar 2022?? 40.1 34.8 2.9 8.1 4.4 8.4 – 5.3 EM-Analytics/Electomanía 2 Feb 2022?? 39.7 36.7 3.1 7.7 4.3 7.7 – 3.0 NueveCuatroUno 12 Dec 2021?? 35.8 35.3 4.0 6.6 5.1 11.6 – 0.5 EM-Analytics/Electomanía 3 Aug–12 Sep 2021?? 40.5 38.1 3.8 5.6 4.4 6.1 – 2.4 EM-Analytics/Electomanía 16 Jun–23 Jul 2021?? 39.8 38.9 2.9 5.1 4.6 7.3 – 0.9 SyM Consulting 22–23 Mar 2021 741 68.7 41.5 35.1 4.6 5.3 4.3 5.6 – 6.4 ElectoPanel/Electomanía 31 Jan 2021 850? 37.5 35.4 6.3 6.3 4.9 8.3 – 2.1 SyM Consulting 1–3 Jun 2020 793 69.5 33.5 37.1 5.9 7.8 4.2 9.1 – 3.6 ElectoPanel/Electomanía 1 Apr–15 May 2020?? 42.9 34.8 6.4 4.7 4.7 5.5 – 8.1 NueveCuatroUno 5–6 May 2020 1,375? 30.0 34.8 7.9 6.0 5.8 6.0 – 4.8 November 2019 general election 10 Nov 2019 67.0 34.9 34.2 7.1 9.9 – 11.5 – 0.7 2019 regional election 26 May 2019 65.9 38.7 33.1 11.5 6.6 4.6 3.9 – 5.6

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

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Lead 2023 regional election 28 May 2023 22.8 32.4 0.6 3.6 2.6 5.4 27.5 9.6 SW Demoscopia/Cadena SER 24 Apr–5 May 2023 1,741 27.6 27.8 0.8 3.8 2.5 4.1 20.4 10.0 0.2 CIS 10–26 Apr 2023 466 26.5 26.2 1.3 5.9 2.2 4.3 25.1 4.4 0.3 SW Demoscopia/PSOE 14 Dec–12 Jan 2023 1,750 30.4 28.5 0.6 2.2 1.6 3.8 23.9 3.5 1.9 CIS 17 Nov–2 Dec 2022 191 26.0 21.5 0.5 3.8 0.5 3.6 32.5 5.9 4.5 November 2019 general election 10 Nov 2019 24.5 24.0 5.0 6.9 – 8.0 28.7 0.5 2019 regional election 26 May 2019 26.9 23.0 8.0 4.6 3.2 2.7 29.7 3.9

Preferred President The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of La Rioja.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None/Notcare Lead SW Demoscopia/Cadena SER 24 Apr–5 May 2023 1,741 29.4 28.5 – 1.0 4.0 – 3.2 3.9 3.5 26.5 0.9 SW Demoscopia/PSOE 14 Dec–12 Jan 2023 1,750 31.3 26.5 0.4 – 2.6 0.6 1.5 2.5 9.1 25.3 4.8

Results + ← Summary of the 28 May 2023 Parliament of La Rioja election results → Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats Votes % ±pp Total +/− People's Party (PP) 76,205 45.38 +12.32 17 +5 Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 53,562 31.90 −6.77 12 −3 Vox (Vox) 12,773 7.61 +3.74 2 +2 We Can–United Left (Podemos–IU) 8,543 5.09 −1.56 2 ±0 Riojan Party+Empty Spain (PR+EV) 6,016 3.58 −1.03 0 ±0 For La Rioja (PLRi) 4,349 2.59 New 0 ±0 Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (CS) 1,473 0.88 −10.65 0 −4 Animalist Party with the Environment (PACMA)1 1,065 0.63 −0.03 0 ±0 VINEA La Rioja (VINEA) 954 0.57 New 0 ±0 Blank Seats to Leave Empty Seats (EB) 619 0.37 New 0 ±0 Blank ballots 2,360 1.41 +0.46 Total 167,919 33 ±0 Valid votes 167,919 98.32 −0.67 Invalid votes 2,860 1.68 +0.67 Votes cast / turnout 170,779 67.79 +1.85 Abstentions 81,140 32.21 −1.85 Registered voters 251,919 Sources

Aftermath

InvestitureGonzalo Capellán (PP) Ballot → 28 June 2023 Required majority → 17 out of 33 Abstentions Absentees Sources

Notes

References Opinion poll sources

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