A regional election was held in Galicia on 18 February 2024 to elect the 12th Parliament of the autonomous community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.
The Parliament of Galicia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Galician 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 Galicia 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 75 members of the Parliament of Galicia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votesâÂÂwhich included blank ballotsâÂÂbeing applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 10 seats and the remaining 35 being distributed in proportion to their populations.
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Parliament constituency was entitled the following seats:
In smaller constituencies, the use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.
The term of the Parliament of Galicia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the expiration date of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Journal of Galicia (DOG), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. The previous election was held on 12 July 2020, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 12 July 2024. The election decree was required to be published in the DOG no later than 18 June 2024, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on 16 August 2024.
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament and call a snap election, provided that it did not occur before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution under this procedure. 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.
Following Alberto Núñez Feijóo's resignation as president of Galicia to become PP national leader, it was speculated that his successor, Alfonso Rueda, could seek to call a snap election for some time throughout 2023 or even to make it coincide with the scheduled general election in December 2023. Following Pedro Sánchez's surprise announcement of a snap general election on 29 May 2023, Rueda ruled out a simultaneous regional election "because Galicia cannot be infected by instability". It was later commented that a good result for Feijóo in the general election could prompt Rueda to trigger a snap election for late 2023, but the close result on 23 July prevented this from materializing. Following Sánchez's investiture in November 2023, rumours again emerged that Rueda was planning to hold a snap election for early 2024. Asked on 27 November on whether the Galician election would be held simultaneously with the Basque regional election as had been the case in the four previous occasions, Rueda proclaimed that "Galicia has its own way"; later, the president of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) Andoni Ortuzar said in an interview that the Galician election seemed "like it is going to go at full speed", with the Galician government allegedly not wishing a simultaneous election call. On 30 November, Rueda acknowledged that he would seek a Galician-only election "without a doubt (...) if that is in the interest of Galicia", and that election preparations were already underway. 18 February has been commented by the media as the most likely date for a snap election to be held. Finally on 21 December, Rueda announced a snap election to be held on 18 February 2024. While Basque lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu was informed of this decision, he distanced himself from Rueda arguing that "the Basque Country is not Galicia", thus paving the way for both elections to be held separately for the first time since 2005.
The Parliament of Galicia was officially dissolved on 26 December 2023 after the publication of the dissolution decree in the DOG, setting the election date for 18 February 2024 and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 18 March.
The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the Parliament at the time of dissolution.
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 the constituencies for which they sought election, 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:
The key dates are listed below (all times are CET):
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; 38 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Galicia.
The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.
The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.
The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.
The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Regional Government of Galicia.
The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood for each leader to become president of the Regional Government of Galicia.
The table below shows registered vote turnout on election day without including voters from the Census of Absent-Residents (CERA).
Under Article 15 of the Statute, investiture processes to elect the president of the Regional Government of Galicia required of an absolute majorityâÂÂmore than half the votes castâÂÂto be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 24 hours later requiring only of a simple majorityâÂÂmore affirmative than negative votesâÂÂto succeed. If the proposed candidate was not elected, successive proposals were to be transacted under the same procedure.