1987 Madrid municipal election

1987 Madrid municipal election
10 June 1987
All 55 seats in the City Council of Madrid
28 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered2,376,010 0.2%
Turnout1,664,580 (70.1%)
0.7 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Juan Barranco José María Álvarez del Manzano Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún
Party PSOE AP CDS
Leader since 22 January 1986 10 October 1986 29 April 1987
Last election 30 seats, 48.4% 15 seats (CP)[a] 0 seats, 3.0%
Seats won 24 20 8
Seat change 6 5 8
Popular vote 666,199 555,599 247,773
Percentage 40.5% 33.8% 15.1%
Swing 7.9 pp n/a 12.1 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Ramón Tamames Javier González-Estéfani
Party IU PDP
Leader since 19 December 1986 31 March 1987
Last election 4 seats, 6.8%[b] 5 seats (CP)[a]
Seats won 3 0
Seat change 1 5
Popular vote 100,514 3,727
Percentage 6.1% 0.2%
Swing 0.7 pp n/a
Mayor before election

Juan Barranco
PSOE

Elected Mayor

Juan Barranco
PSOE

A municipal election was held in Madrid on Wednesday, 10 June 1987, to elect the 3rd City Council of the municipality. All 55 seats in the City Council were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain, as well as the 1987 European Parliament election.

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won the election, but lost its absolute majority and lost 137,000 votes compared to 1983. The People's Alliance (AP), which stood separately after the breakup of the People's Coalition in 1986, failed to meet the level of support reached by the coalition in 1983 and also lost votes and seats. Benefitting from both parties' losses was the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), which, with its 8 seats and 15% of the votes, entered the City Council for its first and only time and went on to hold the balance of power. United Left (IU), an electoral coalition comprising the Communist Party of Spain and other left-wing parties, continued on its long-term decline and lost 1 more seat, barely obtaining 100,000 votes and 6% of the share.

AP and CDS together reached an absolute majority, but failure on reaching an agreement resulted in Socialist Juan Barranco being re-elected as mayor. However, in June 1989, both parties agreed to present a motion of censure on Barranco and elect Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún from the CDS as new mayor, ousting the PSOE from power in the city after a 10-year rule.

Overview

Under the 1978 Constitution, the governance of municipalities in Spain—part of the country's local government system—was 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.[2][3] In the case of Madrid, the top-tier administrative and governing body was the City Council of Madrid.[4][5]

Electoral system

Voting for local assemblies was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered and residing in the municipality of Madrid 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, nor being legally incapacitated), as well as resident non-nationals whose country of origin allowed Spanish nationals to vote in their own elections by virtue of a treaty.[3][6][7]

Local councillors were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each municipality.[8] Each municipality constituted a multi-member constituency, entitled a number of seats based on the following scale:[9]

Population Councillors
<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 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.[10]

The mayor was indirectly elected by the local assembly.[3] A legal clause required candidates to earn the vote of an absolute majority of councillors, or else the candidate of the most-voted party was to be automatically appointed to the post. In the event of a tie, the appointee was to be determined by lot.[11]

Election date

The term of city councils in Spain expired four years after the date of their previous election. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the scheduled date of expiry of the city councils and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication.[12] The previous local elections were held on 8 May 1983, which meant that the city councils' terms would have expired on 8 May 1987. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 14 April 1987, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Saturday, 13 June 1987.

Local councils could not be dissolved before the expiry of their term, except in cases of mismanagement that seriously harmed the public interest and implied a breach of constitutional obligations, in which case the Council of Ministers could—optionally—agree to call a by-election.[13]

Elections to local councils were officially called on 14 April 1987 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 10 June.[14]

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 a determined amount of the electors registered in the municipality for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. In the case of Madrid, as its population was over 1,000,001, at least 8,000 signatures were required.[15]

Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:

Candidacy Parties and
alliances 		Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Gov. Ref.
Vote % Seats
PSOE
List
 Juan Barranco Social democracy 48.4% 30 [16]
[17]
[18]
AP
List
 José María Álvarez del Manzano Conservatism
National conservatism
37.8%
[c] 		23 [19]
PDP
List
 Javier González-Estéfani Christian democracy [20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
IU
List
 Ramón Tamames Socialism
Communism
6.8%
[b] 		4 [24]
CDS
List
 Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún Centrism
Liberalism 		3.0% 0 [25]
[26]
[27]

The Liberal Party (PL), which had contested the previous election within the People's Coalition as the Liberal Union (UL), chose not to field any candidates.[28]

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 (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 28 seats were required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Madrid (29 in the 1983 election).

Results

← Summary of the 10 June 1987 City Council of Madrid election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 666,199 40.47 −7.97 24 −6
People's Alliance (AP)1 555,599 33.76 n/a 20 +5
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 247,773 15.05 +12.00 8 +8
United Left (IU)2 100,514 6.11 −0.67 3 −1
Workers' Party of Spain–Communist Unity (PTE–UC) 25,059 1.52 New 0 ±0
The Greens (LV) 11,129 0.68 New 0 ±0
Confederation of the Greens (CV) 4,858 0.30 New 0 ±0
Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) 4,592 0.28 New 0 ±0
People's Democratic Party (PDP)1 3,727 0.23 n/a 0 −5
Humanist Platform (PH) 2,475 0.15 New 0 ±0
Spanish Juntas (JJEE) 2,362 0.14 New 0 ±0
Republican Popular Unity (UPR)3 1,248 0.08 +0.03 0 ±0
Revolutionary Workers' Party of Spain (PORE) 1,219 0.07 New 0 ±0
Communist Workers' League (LOC) 1,164 0.07 New 0 ±0
Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI) 1,083 0.07 New 0 ±0
Liberal Party (PL)1 n/a n/a n/a 0 −3
Blank ballots 16,972 1.03 +0.59
Total 1,645,973 55 −2
Valid votes 1,645,973 98.88 −0.15
Invalid votes 18,607 1.12 +0.15
Votes cast / turnout 1,664,580 70.06 −0.72
Abstentions 711,430 29.94 +0.72
Registered voters 2,376,010
Sources[1][29][30]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PSOE
 
 40.47%
AP
 
 33.76%
CDS
 
 15.05%
IU
 
 6.11%
PTE–UC
 
 1.52%
Others
 
 2.06%
Blank ballots
 
 1.03%
Seats
PSOE
 
 43.64%
AP
 
 36.36%
CDS
 
 14.55%
IU
 
 5.45%

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Ballot → 30 June 1987
Required majority → 28 out of 55
24 / 55
 Y
  • • AP (20)
20 / 55
 N
8 / 55
 N
Abstentions/Blank ballots
  • • IU (3)
3 / 55
Absentees
0 / 55
Sources[1][31][32][33]

1989 motion of no confidence

Motion of no confidence
Nomination of Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún (CDS)
Ballot → 29 June 1989[e]
Required majority → 28 out of 55 Y
Yes
  • • PP (20)
  • • CDS (8)
  • • FP (1)
29 / 55
No
24 / 55
Abstentions
0 / 55
Absentees
0 / 55
Sources[1][34][35]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Within the AP–PDP–UL alliance in the 1983 election: AP (15 seats), PDP (5 seats) and UL/PL (3 seats).[1]
  2. ^ a b c Results for PCE in the 1983 election.
  3. ^ Results for AP–PDP–UL in the 1983 election.
  4. ^ a b c d Within AP–PDP–UL/AP–PDP–PL.
  5. ^ 2 IU councillors cast invalid ballots.

References

Opinion poll sources
  1. ^ "El PSOE pierde la mayoría absoluta en la Comunidad y en el Ayuntamiento de Madrid" (PDF). Ya (in Spanish). 4 June 1987.
  2. ^ "El PSOE pierde la mayoría absoluta y el CDS recoge el voto de castigo" (PDF). Ya (in Spanish). 4 June 1987.
  3. ^ "Los votos de AP y CDS podrían evitar que Barranco fuera alcalde de Madrid" (PDF). Ya (in Spanish). 4 June 1987.
  4. ^ "Algunas encuestas electorales plantean un descenso exagerado del PSOE". ABC (in Spanish). 5 June 1987.
  5. ^ "Rodríguez Sahagún sería el árbitro para el Ayuntamiento" (PDF). El País (in Spanish). 4 June 1987.
  6. ^ "Un sondeo del CIS para el Gobierno da la mayoría del PSOE en Madrid y Barcelona" (PDF). El País (in Spanish). 4 June 1987.
Other
  1. ^ a b c d Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones Municipales en Madrid (desde 1979)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  2. ^ Constitution (1978), art. 140.
  3. ^ a b c LBRL (1985), art. 19.
  4. ^ LBRL (1985), add. prov. 6.
  5. ^ Decree 1674 of 11 July (1963), art. 3.
  6. ^ Constitution (1978), art. 13.
  7. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 2–3 & 176.
  8. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 163 & 180.
  9. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 179.
  10. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 46, 48 & 182.
  11. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 196.
  12. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 42 & 194.
  13. ^ LBRL (1985), art. 61.
  14. ^ Real Decreto 508/1987, de 13 de abril, de convocatoria de elecciones locales (PDF) (Royal Decree 508/1987). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 13 April 1987. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  15. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 44 & 187.
  16. ^ "Miles de madrileños expresaron anoche en la calle su dolor por la muerte de Enrique Tierno". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 20 January 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  17. ^ Montoliú, Pedro (23 January 1986). "Barranco (PSOE), Álvarez del Manzano (CP) y Herrera (PCE), candidatos a la sucesión en la alcaldía". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  18. ^ González Ibáñez, Juan (8 April 1987). "Barranco y Del Valle, confirmados como candidatos a alcaldes de Madrid y Sevilla". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  19. ^ Jáuregui, Fernando (11 October 1986). "Álvarez del Manzano y Barranco, rivales en la 'batalla' por la alcaldía de Madrid". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  20. ^ "Alzaga descarta cualquier coalición del PDP con Alianza Popular". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. 28 January 1987. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  21. ^ "González Estéfani, candidato del PDP a la alcaldía madrileña". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 1 April 1987. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  22. ^ González Ibáñez, Juan (18 May 1987). "Las dificultades económicas abocan al PDP a renunciar al Parlamento Europeo". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  23. ^ Valdecantos, Camilo (23 May 1987). "El PDP mantiene sus candidaturas y elige a Rupérez presidente". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  24. ^ "El PCE propone a Tamames como candidato a la alcaldía". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 20 December 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  25. ^ González Ibáñez, Juan (16 February 1987). "Rodríguez Sahagún, hacia la alcaldía de Madrid". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  26. ^ Díez, Anabel (22 March 1987). "Adolfo Suarez estudia la posiblidad de presentarse a la alcaldía de Madrid". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  27. ^ González Ibáñez, Juan (1 May 1987). "Suárez renuncia a ser candidato al Parlamento y pone en su lugar al ex ministro Punset". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  28. ^ "El Partido Liberal no presentará candidato a la alcaldía de Madrid". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 22 April 1987. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  29. ^ "Elecciones celebradas. Resultados electorales" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  30. ^ "Resultados de las elecciones municipales celebradas el 10 de junio de 1987" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish) (172): 1–565. 20 July 1987. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  31. ^ Mercado, Francisco (30 June 1987). "Juan Barranco será elegido hoy alcalde de Madrid". El País. Madrid. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  32. ^ Martín del Barrio, Javier (1 July 1987). "Barranco renueva su mandato, en minoría, con fuertes críticas de los tres grupos de la oposición". El País. Madrid. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  33. ^ Montoliú, Pedro (1 July 1987). "AP culpa al CDS de la falta de acuerdo para arrebatar la alcaldía al PSOE". El País. Madrid. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  34. ^ Montoliú, Pedro (18 May 1989). "Centristas y populares presentan la moción de censura contra el alcalde de Madrid". El País. Madrid. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  35. ^ Fresneda, Carlos; Montoliú, Pedro (30 June 1989). "Rodríguez Sahagún estrena la alcaldía de Madrid con buenas intenciones y sin un programa claro". El País. Madrid. Retrieved 29 November 2025.

Bibliography

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