The 1991 Madrilenian regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Assembly of the Autonomous Community of Madrid. All 101 seats in the Assembly were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

Quick Facts All 101 seats in the Assembly of Madrid 51 seats needed for a majority, Registered ...

1991 Madrilenian regional election

← 1987 26 May 1991 1995 →
All 101 seats in the Assembly of Madrid 51 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	3,837,680 9.2%
Turnout	2,251,613 (58.7%) 11.2 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Joaquín Leguina Isabel Villalonga Party PP PSOE IU Leader since 8 February 1987 14 December 1979 1987 Last election 32 seats, 31.8%[lower-alpha 1] 40 seats, 38.4% 7 seats, 7.5% Seats won 47 41 13 Seat change 15 1 6 Popular vote 956,865 820,510 270,558 Percentage 42.7% 36.6% 12.1% Swing 10.9 pp 1.8 pp 4.6 pp
President before election Joaquín Leguina PSOE Elected President Joaquín Leguina PSOE

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The election saw the electoral collapse of the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), which fell below the 5% threshold and lost all their 17 seats. Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón's People's Party (PP) emerged as the largest party in the community for the first time,^[1] but was unable to form a government due to the lack of allies as a result of CDS expulsion from the Assembly. Consequently, Joaquín Leguina from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was re-elected President for a third term in office thanks to the support of United Left (IU).

The 1987 election had resulted in a parliamentary deadlock. The opposition bloc of the People's Alliance (AP) and the CDS held 49 seats against 47 for the PSOE and IU. The ruling PSOE was initially able to hold on to power and have Joaquín Leguina re-elected President thanks to CDS' abstention, but nonetheless the government's majority remained precarious.

In 1988, an AP deputy, Nicolás Piñeiro Cuesta, resigned from the party as a result of ideological differences with the Madrid AP leader, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón. Piñeiro launched his own party, the Independent Madrilenian Regional Party (PRIM), shortly after. Thereafter, in January 1989, AP along with other parties merged into the newly-created People's Party (PP).

In the first half of 1989, the PP and the CDS reached an agreement of cooperation in the Madrid Assembly, resulting in a motion of no confidence against Leguina's government in June 1989, in an attempt to replace it with a PP-CDS administration headed by Ruiz-Gallardón as Madrid President. To succeed, the motion needed the support of a majority of members, meaning that 49 votes were needed. With the PP and CDS having 48 members, Piñeiro's support was necessary. However, he abstained, and the United Left members blocked the motion alongside PSOE, resulting in the vote failing.^[6]

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 0.5 percent of the electorate in the Community of Madrid, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.^[3][4]

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

More information Candidacy, Parties and alliances ...

Candidacy		Parties and alliances	Leading candidate		Ideology	Previous result		Gov.	Ref.
						Votes (%)	Seats
	PSOE	List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)		Joaquín Leguina	Social democracy	38.45%	40	Y
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón	Conservatism Christian democracy	31.79%[lower-alpha 1]	32	N
	CDS	List Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)		José Ramón Lasuén	Centrism Liberalism	16.63%	17	N
	IU	List United Left (IU)		Isabel Villalonga	Socialism Communism	7.48%	7	N

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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; 51 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Assembly of Madrid.

More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout					LV			ARM	Lead
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	—	58.7	36.6 41	[lower-alpha 2]	3.3 0	12.1 13	1.6 0	[lower-alpha 2]	42.7 47	–	6.1
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 1][p 2]	18 May 1991	?	?	32.3 35/36	[lower-alpha 2]	5.4 6	14.6 16	3.4 0	[lower-alpha 2]	39.7 44/45	–	7.4
Metra Seis/El Independiente[p 1][p 2]	12 May 1991	?	?	36.2 39	[lower-alpha 2]	8.7 9	10.5 11	4.2 4	[lower-alpha 2]	35.1 38	–	1.1
Demoscopia/El País[p 1][p 2][p 3][p 4]	4–7 May 1991	800	?	36.4 42/43	[lower-alpha 2]	4.5 0	11.7 13	4.3 0	[lower-alpha 2]	38.9 45/46	–	2.5
1989 general election	29 Oct 1989	—	72.7	33.5 (36)	[lower-alpha 2]	11.0 (12)	15.4 (16)	1.1 (0)	[lower-alpha 2]	34.2 (37)	1.0 (0)	0.7
1989 EP election	15 Jun 1989	—	58.5	35.5 (41)	[lower-alpha 2]	9.3 (11)	8.4 (9)	1.8 (0)	[lower-alpha 2]	28.0 (33)	6.1 (7)	7.5
1987 regional election	10 Jun 1987	—	69.9	38.4 40	31.4 32	16.6 17	7.5 7	1.1 0	0.4 0	–	–	7.0

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Investiture processes to elect the President of the Community of Madrid required for an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 48 hours later requiring of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. If none of such majorities were achieved, successive candidate proposals could be processed under the same procedure. In the event of the investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Assembly would be automatically dissolved and a snap election called.^[2]

More information Ballot →, 11 July 1991 ...

Investiture Joaquín Leguina (PSOE)
Ballot →		11 July 1991
Required majority →		51 out of 101 Y
	Yes • PSOE (41) • IU (13)	54 / 101
	No • PP (47)	47 / 101
	Abstentions	0 / 101
	Absentees	0 / 101
Sources[7]

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