1989 Portuguese local elections

1989 Portuguese local elections
All 305 Portuguese municipalities and 4,260 Portuguese Parishes; All 2,002 local government councils
Turnout	60.9% 2.1 pp

The Portuguese local elections of 1989 took place on 17 December. The elections consisted of three separate elections in the 305 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, whose winner is elected mayor, another election for the Municipal Assembly and a last one for the lower-level Parish Assembly, whose winner is elected parish president. This last was held separately in the more than 4,200 parishes around the country.

For the first time since democracy was restored, the center-left/left-wing parties won a nationwide local election. The Socialist Party won, also for the 1st time, the status of largest local party, a title the Socialists would hold on until 2001, and gained control in many big cities across the country, like Lisbon and Porto.^[7] In Lisbon, the PS leader, Jorge Sampaio, in a coalition with CDU, defeated the PSD/CDS candidate, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, by a 49% to 42% margin. The Socialists had a net gain of 41 cities, and won important cities like Guimarães, Coimbra, Faro and Vila Nova de Gaia.

The Social Democrats (PSD), were the big losers of the elections. The party lost its status as the largest local party and suffered heavy losses across the country, particularly in the big cities. The PSD lost a total of 35 cities, although was able to increase its share of the vote to 35%. The results contrast with the landslide election victory the PSD won in the 1987 general elections. Many of Cavaco Silva's government policies such as privatizations, which was creating some unemployment, or the tensions with some workers unions, like the Police protests in April 1989,^[8] may have had a negative effect on the PSD chances.

The Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) gained 3 cities, compared with 1985, and maintained their control in the Alentejo area. Nonetheless, the Communist/Green coalition suffered a big drop in its share of vote, dropping 6% to around 13%. The CDU was able to hold on to their bastions of Beja, Évora and Almada.

The Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), like PSD, had a very poor showing winning 20 cities, a drop of 7 cities. The party lost some important cities to either the PS or PSD, such as Póvoa de Varzim, Leiria and Viseu. At the same time, CDS made several coalitions with the PS in Azores and Madeira, and, together, the PS/CDS coalition won a combined total of 3 cities. Other smaller parties also made gains, like the UDP which gained Machico, Madeira islands, from the PSD

Turnout in these elections was lower compared with 4 years ago, as 60.9% of the electorate cast a ballot.

Parties

The main political forces involved in the election were:

¹ The PS formed coalitions with CDS, CDU and MDP/CDE in several municipalities.
² The PS formed coalitions with CDS and PPM in some municipalities.

National summary of votes and seats

Municipal Councils

style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF66FF;" data-sort-value="Socialist Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF9900;" data-sort-value="Social Democratic Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF0000;" data-sort-value="Democratic Unity Coalition" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0093DD;" data-sort-value="CDS – People's Party" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #00B233;" data-sort-value="Democratic Renewal Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #CC0000;" data-sort-value="Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the Proletariat" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #E2062C;" data-sort-value="People's Democratic Union (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: darkred;" data-sort-value="Portuguese Democratic Movement" | style="width: 2px; background-color: yellow;" data-sort-value="Christian Democratic Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #2A5392;" data-sort-value="People's Monarchist Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: darkred;" data-sort-value="Left Revolutionary Front (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0000FF;" data-sort-value="Democratic Party of the Atlantic" |

e • d Summary of the 17 December 1989 Municipal Councils elections results
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Councillors		Mayors
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	#	±	#	±
Socialist	1,599,483	32.40	5.0		728	154	116	37
Social Democratic	1,554,245	31.49	2.5		780	39	113	36
Democratic Unity Coalition	633,693	12.84	6.6		253	50	50	3
Democratic and Social Centre	451,126	9.14	0.6		179	43	20	7
	PSD / CDS / PPM	193,161	3.91	—		13	—	1	—
	PS / CDU / MDP/CDE	180,760	3.66	—		9	—	1	—
Democratic Renewal	38,565	0.78	4.0		4	35	0	3
	PS / CDS	34,912	0.71	—		15	—	3	—
	CDU / PRD	23,026	0.47	—		5	—	0	—
Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the Proletariat	21,819	0.44	0.2		0	0	0	0
People's Democratic Union	15,876	0.32	0.3		4	1	1	1
Portuguese Democratic Movement	11,384	0.23	—		1	—	0	—
Christian Democratic	7,189	0.15	0.1		1	1	0	0
	MDP/CDE / PRD	3,607	0.07	—		7	—	0	—
PPM	2,768	0.06	0.4		1	3	0	0
Left Revolutionary Front	2,424	0.05	—		0	—	0	—
	CDS / PS	953	0.02	—		1	—	0	—
	PRD / MDP/CDE	710	0.01	—		1	—	0	—
Democratic Party of the Atlantic	349	0.01	—		0	—	0	—
Total valid		4,765,968	96.55	0.4	—	2,002	27	305	0
Blank ballots		90,114	1.83	0.3
Invalid ballots		80,328	1.63	0.1
Total (turnout 60.86%)		4,936,410	100.00	2.1
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Municipal Assemblies

style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF66FF;" data-sort-value="Socialist Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF9900;" data-sort-value="Social Democratic Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF0000;" data-sort-value="Democratic Unity Coalition" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0093DD;" data-sort-value="CDS – People's Party" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #00B233;" data-sort-value="Democratic Renewal Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #E2062C;" data-sort-value="People's Democratic Union (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #CC0000;" data-sort-value="Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the Proletariat" | style="width: 2px; background-color: darkred;" data-sort-value="Portuguese Democratic Movement" | style="width: 2px; background-color: yellow;" data-sort-value="Christian Democratic Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #2A5392;" data-sort-value="People's Monarchist Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0000FF;" data-sort-value="Democratic Party of the Atlantic" |

e • d Summary of the 17 December 1989 Municipal Assemblies elections results
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Mandates
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	#	±
Socialist	1,574,632	31.92	7.6		2,429	633
Social Democratic	1,544,877	31.32	1.7		2,573	98
Democratic Unity Coalition	657,499	13.33	7.0		849	207
Democratic and Social Centre	443,731	9.00	7.2		712	303
	PSD / CDS / PPM	195,249	3.96	—		41	—
	PS / CDU / MDP/CDE	182,237	3.69	—		28	—
Democratic Renewal	41,085	0.83	4.4		26	247
	PS / CDS	34,043	0.69	—		41	—
	CDU / PRD	23,456	0.48	—		18	—
People's Democratic Union	17,706	0.36	0.3		14	0
Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the Proletariat	11,029	0.22	0.1		0	0
Portuguese Democratic Movement	9,239	0.19	—		6	—
Christian Democratic	4,250	0.09	0.0		3	1
	MDP/CDE / PRD	2,762	0.06	—		4	—
PPM	1,859	0.04	0.3		2	5
Democratic Party of the Atlantic	1,355	0.03	—		1	—
	CDS / PS	982	0.02	—		4	—
	PRD / MDP/CDE	505	0.01	—		2	—
Total valid		4,722,468	96.22	0.4	—	6,753	81
Blank ballots		104,261	2.12	0.2
Invalid ballots		81,410	1.66	0.2
Total (turnout 59.77%)		4,908,139	100.00	3.4
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Parish Assemblies

style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF9900;" data-sort-value="Social Democratic Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF66FF;" data-sort-value="Socialist Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF0000;" data-sort-value="Democratic Unity Coalition" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0093DD;" data-sort-value="CDS – People's Party" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #00B233;" data-sort-value="Democratic Renewal Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #E2062C;" data-sort-value="People's Democratic Union (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: darkred;" data-sort-value="Portuguese Democratic Movement" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #CC0000;" data-sort-value="Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the Proletariat" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #2A5392;" data-sort-value="People's Monarchist Party (Portugal)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0000FF;" data-sort-value="Democratic Party of the Atlantic" | style="width: 2px; background-color: yellow;" data-sort-value="Christian Democratic Party (Portugal)" |

e • d Summary of the 17 December 1989 Parish Assemblies elections results
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Mandates		Presidents
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	#	±	#	±
Social Democratic	1,556,509	31.69	1.2		13,237	119
Socialist	1,522,653	31.00	4.0		11,188	2,149
Democratic Unity Coalition	668,608	13.61	6.6		2,925	751
Democratic and Social Centre	397,164	8.09	2.4		3,444	1,087
	PSD / CDS / PPM	189,335	3.86	—		403	—		—
	PS / CDU / MDP/CDE	183,404	3.73	—		392	—		—
	Independents	91,533	1.86	0.5		1,009	212
	PS / CDS	32,109	0.65	—		181	—		—
Democratic Renewal	29,684	0.60	2.8		58	668
People's Democratic Union	24,324	0.50	0.1		30	4
	CDU / PRD	22,713	0.46	—		95	—		—
Portuguese Democratic Movement	7,610	0.15	—		13	—
Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the Proletariat	4,576	0.09	0.0		0	0
PPM	1,247	0.03	0.0		9	15
Democratic Party of the Atlantic	1,162	0.02	—		3	—		—
Christian Democratic	1,068	0.02	0.0		7	3
	MDP/CDE / PRD	952	0.02	—		5	—		—
	PRD / MDP/CDE	213	0.00	—		1	—		—
Total valid		4,731,554	96.41	0.2	—	33,000	1,059
Blank ballots		90,606	1.85	0.0
Invalid ballots		85,834	1.75	0.2
Total (turnout 55.25%)		4,907,994	100.00	8.3
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

References

^ Sum of votes between PS-only lists and lists with other parties.
^ Sum of votes between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties.
^ Number of municipalities won between PS-only lists and lists with other parties. PS-only lists: 116; PS-coalition lists: 4.
^ Number of municipalities won between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties. PSD-only lists: 113; PSD-coalition lists: 1.
^ Sum of councillors between PS-only lists and lists with other parties.
^ Sum of councillors between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties.
^ "As cores políticas que pintam o mapa do poder local de 1976 a 2013". Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). 2017.
^ ""Secos e Molhados" na primeira pessoa: (Re)viver a História". Expresso (in Portuguese). 2016.

External links

[1] Sum of votes between PS-only lists and lists with other parties.

[2] Sum of votes between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties.

[3] Number of municipalities won between PS-only lists and lists with other parties. PS-only lists: 116; PS-coalition lists: 4.

[4] Number of municipalities won between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties. PSD-only lists: 113; PSD-coalition lists: 1.

[5] Sum of councillors between PS-only lists and lists with other parties.

[6] Sum of councillors between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties.

[JN-7] "As cores políticas que pintam o mapa do poder local de 1976 a 2013". Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). 2017.

[Expresso-8] ""Secos e Molhados" na primeira pessoa: (Re)viver a História". Expresso (in Portuguese). 2016.

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See also: Elections in the Azores Madeira Lisbon Presidential elections