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23 May 2027 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 33 seats in the City Council of Valencia 17 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A municipal election will be held in Valencia on 23 May 2027 to elect the 13th City Council of the municipality. All 33 seats in the City Council will be up for election. It will be held concurrently with regional elections in at least six autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.
Under the 1978 Constitution, the governance of municipalities in Spain—part of the country's local government system—is centered on the figure of city councils (Spanish : ayuntamientos), local corporations with independent legal personality composed of a mayor, a government council and an elected legislative assembly. [1] In the case of Valencia, the top-tier administrative and governing body is the City Council of Valencia. [2]
The term of city councils in Spain expires four years after the date of their previous election, with election day being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years (as of 2026, this has been the year before a leap year). The election decree shall be issued no later than 54 days before the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE). [3] The previous local elections were held on 28 May 2023, setting the date for election day on the fourth Sunday of May four years later, which is 23 May 2027.
Local councils can not be dissolved before the expiry of their term, except in cases of mismanagement that seriously harm the public interest and imply a breach of constitutional obligations, in which case the Council of Ministers can—optionally—agree to call a by-election. [4]
Voting for local assemblies is 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 have not been deprived of the right to vote by a final sentence), as well as resident non-national European citizens, and those whose country of origin allow reciprocal voting by virtue of a treaty. [5]
Local councillors are 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. [6] Each municipality is a multi-member constituency, with a number of seats based on the following scale: [7]
| Population | Councillors |
|---|---|
| <100 | 3 |
| 101–250 | 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 does not provide for by-elections to fill vacant seats; instead, any vacancies arising after the proclamation of candidates and during the legislative term will be filled by the next candidates on the party lists or, when required, by designated substitutes. [8]
The mayor is indirectly elected by the local assembly. [9] A legal clause requires candidates to earn the vote of an absolute majority of councillors, or else the candidate of the most-voted party will be automatically appointed to the post. In the event of a tie, the appointee will be determined by lot. [10]
The table below shows the composition of the political groups in the local assembly at the present time. [11] [12]
| Groups | Parties | Councillors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | Total | ||||
| People's Municipal Group | PP | 13 | 13 | ||
| Commitment Municipal Group | Compromís | 9 | 9 | ||
| Socialist Municipal Group | PSPV–PSOE | 7 | 7 | ||
| Vox Municipal Group | Vox | 4 | 4 | ||
The electoral law allows 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 are required to inform the relevant electoral commission within 10 days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors need to secure the signature of a determined amount of the electors registered in the municipality for which they seek election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list. In the case of Valencia, as its population is between 300,001 and 1,000,000, at least 5,000 signatures are required. [13] Amendments in 2024 required a balanced composition of men and women in the electoral lists through the use of a zipper system. [14]
Below is a list of the main parties and alliances which will likely contest the election:
| Candidacy | Parties and alliances | Leading candidate | Ideology | Previous result | Gov. | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vote % | Seats | ||||||||
| PP | List
|  | María José Catalá | Conservatism Christian democracy | 36.6% | 13 |  | ||
| Compromís | List
|  | Mónica Oltra | Valencianism Progressivism Green politics | 24.0% | 9 |  | [15] [16] | |
| PSPV–PSOE | List
|  | Pilar Bernabé | Social democracy | 19.0% | 7 | | [17] | |
| Vox | List
|  | Juan Manuel Badenas | Right-wing populism Ultranationalism National conservatism | 12.7% | 4 | | ||
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.
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 are required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Valencia.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout |  |  |  |  |   |  |  | SALF | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SyM Consulting [p 1] | 16–20 Mar 2026 | 873 | 73.8 | 36.2 13 | 21.3 7/8 | 24.0 8 | 13.4 4/5 | 2.4 0 | 0.5 0 | – | – | 12.2 |
| SocioMétrica/El Español [p 2] | 17–20 Nov 2025 | 1,150 | ? | 35.9 13/14 | 22.3 6/7 | 20.1 6/7 | 17.4 6/7 | 2.2 0 | – | – | – | 13.6 |
| SyM Consulting/EPDA [p 3] | 3–6 Nov 2025 | 984 | ? | 32.2 11/12 | 25.5 8/9 | 19.6 7 | 16.9 6 | 2.4 0 | 0.7 0 | – | – | 6.7 |
| SyM Consulting [p 4] [p 5] | 28–31 May 2025 | 917 | 67.9 | 39.0 13/14 | 23.0 8 | 20.1 7 | 12.7 4/5 | 1.1 0 | 1.3 0 | – | – | 16.0 |
| SyM Consulting/EPDA [p 6] | 11–14 Mar 2025 | 906 | 67.9 | 40.0 14/15 | 22.4 8 | 19.2 6/7 | 12.1 4 | 1.6 0 | 1.8 0 | – | – | 17.6 |
| GfK/Compromís [p 7] | 9–28 Jan 2025 | 1,215 | ? | 32.5 11/12 | 26.7 9/10 | 20.5 7 | 15.4 5 | 1.8 0 | – | – | 1.7 0 | 5.8 |
| SyM Consulting/EPDA [p 8] | 1–7 Nov 2024 | 938 | 71.1 | 37.3 13/14 | 23.7 8/9 | 17.5 6 | 14.0 5 | 2.4 0 | 2.2 0 | – | – | 13.6 |
| Demoscopia y Servicios/ESdiario [p 9] | 3–5 Oct 2024 | 800 | 67.0 | 38.6 14 | 20.3 7 | 20.8 8 | 12.0 4 | 3.5 0 | – | – | – | 17.8 |
| SyM Consulting [p 10] | 17–20 Sep 2024 | 908 | 66.4 | 39.0 14 | 23.7 8 | 18.8 6/7 | 13.6 4/5 | 1.9 0 | 0.5 0 | – | – | 15.3 |
| 2024 EP election | 9 Jun 2024 | N/a | 60.3 | 36.9 (13) | [a] | 29.2 (11) | 10.7 (4) | 4.3 (0) | 1.0 (0) | 8.8 (3) | 5.3 (2) | 7.7 |
| SyM Consulting/EPDA [p 11] | 10–13 May 2024 | 932 | 71.9 | 38.6 14 | 24.6 8/9 | 18.7 6 | 13.3 4/5 | 2.0 0 | 0.5 0 | – | – | 14.0 |
| 2023 general election | 23 Jul 2023 | N/a | 76.1 | 36.5 (12) | [a] | 29.5 (10) | 14.1 (5) | [a] | – | 17.7 (6) | – | 7.0 |
| 2023 municipal election | 28 May 2023 | N/a | 72.0 | 36.6 13 | 24.0 9 | 19.0 7 | 12.7 4 | 2.3 0 | 2.3 0 | – | – | 12.6 |
The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become mayor of Valencia.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | Other/ None/ Not care |  | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalá PP | Robles Compromís | Bernabé PSPV | Badenas Vox | ||||||
| SocioMétrica/El Español [p 2] | 17–20 Nov 2025 | 1,150 | 32.3 | 15.3 | 17.7 | 11.6 | – | 23.1 | 14.6 |
Opinion poll sources
Other
