Extremadura's president, María Guardiola, has announced early regional elections for December 21 due to opposition rejection of the regional budgets. This decision kicks off an electoral cycle in PP-governed regions. The campaign will start on December 5.
María Guardiola, Extremadura's PP president, signed a decree on October 27, 2025, to dissolve the regional parliament and call early autonomous elections for December 21. The move addresses opposition blockage of the budgets, with total amendments filed by PSOE, Vox, and Unidas por Extremadura last week. "We will not allow a blockade because some of us are not here to cling to the chair," Guardiola stated in a Mérida press conference, stressing that without budgets governance is impossible and this would be the second year of prorogued accounts.
At 45, Guardiola took power in 2023 after tying seats with PSOE (28 each), followed by Vox with 5 and Unidas por Extremadura with 4. She initially refused to pact with Vox but integrated it into her government with one ministry. In July 2024, Vox broke regional pacts, and its councilor, Ignacio Higueros, resigned that summer over curriculum irregularities. Now, Guardiola seeks an absolute majority (33 seats) to avoid dependencies. The electoral campaign will start on December 5, her birthday, and end on the 19.
The national PP backed the decision: "Neither is María Guardiola Pedro Sánchez nor is the PP the PSOE. We have no fear of the ballot boxes," stated from Génova, criticizing the central government's prorogued budgets. Alberto Núñez Feijóo tweeted: "A leader who respects their people keeps their word and a basic principle: in the face of blockade, elections." Extremadura's PSOE, led by Miguel Ángel Gallardo—implicated in a case involving Pedro Sánchez's brother—criticized: "Guardiola has failed to provide stability or direction to the region." Nerea Fernández Cordero of IU Extremadura posted on X: "Guardiola has fled forward in a very unintelligent way".
This advance opens the electoral calendar in PP regions: followed by Castilla y León (March 2026) and Andalucía (June 2026), with pressure on Aragón over its budget blockage.