Date Published: 29/05/2023

Region of Murcia election results 2023

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These are the election results in the major Murcia towns and cities

This Sunday May 28, there were municipal and regional elections all around Spain to vote for who will govern in the Ayuntamiento Town Halls and in the governments of the Autonomous Communities.

So, what are the results of the elections, and what will it mean for the next four years of politics in Murcia?

This is what we can tell so far in the provisional count of votes...

Election results at the regional level

In the Region of Murcia, the conservative Partido Popular (PP) won a resounding victory, securing 42.83% of the votes cast and 21 seats in the autonomous Parliament, just two seats short of an absolute majority.

The PP party was already in power at the regional level, and with this latest win they consolidate their hold on Murcia, winning more seats than both the PSOE Socialist party and the far-left Podemos party put together.

This is enough to ensure that the far-right VOX party abstains, and the PP can govern on their own instead of as part of a coalition. As such, incumbent regional President Fernando López Miras will be invested in the role for the third consecutive time.

Election results at the municipal level

Each of the cities, towns and villages in Murcia (and across Spain, too) voted for who would come to power in their local town halls.

As well as claiming a victory at the regional level, the PP also triumphed at the municipal level, winning the most votes in 28 different localities and gaining an absolute majority in 15 of them.

They won the most votes in the three municipalities with the largest populations in the Region: in the City of Murcia, with an absolute majority; in Cartagena with 10 seats, just four short of an absolute majority; and in Lorca, with 11 seats, compared to nine for the PSOE, four for VOX and only one for Podemos. Only Molina de Segura allowed the Socialists to obtain a victory among the big ones.

In Torre Pacheco, Jumilla, La Unión, Cieza, Molina de Segura, Puerto Lumbreras and Totana, the PP will likely have to form a coalition with VOX if they wish to govern.

In Mazarrón, the PP won 8 seats, versus 6 for the independents. The PSOE took 6 and VOX 1: click for further details.

Meanwhile, the PSOE won 11 absolute majorities, including a convincing hold on their existing power in Águilas, Los Alcázares, Calasparra, Beniel, Bullas, Mula, Ceutí, Lorquí, Campos del Río, Ojós and Villanueva.

It was a slightly different story in Alhama de Murcia, where the PP and PSOE were evenly matched, potentially giving the minority local Aúna Alhama party the deciding vote.

All in all, there has been a clear shift to the right in Murcia in comparison with the last election in 2019. Podemos have been left with minimal electoral representation and the Ciudadanos party are now virtually non-existent, but for one lone councillor in Ceutí. The PSOE have suffered a damning loss while the PP will be riding high, able to govern either alone or with the rapidly rising VOX party.

Similar results have been seen all over the country, and the results of this election are likely to mirror what happens at the national level in the General Election slated for July 2023 in Spain, having been brought forward from the end of the year following this humiliating defeat for the reigning PSOE party.

Image: PP Región de Murcia

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