2004 European Parliament election in Portugal

European Parliament election in Portugal, 2004

13 June 2004
24 seats to the European Parliament
Turnout	38.6% 1.3 pp
First party Second party   Leader António Costa João de Deus Pinheiro Party PS FP Alliance PES EPP Last election 12 seats 11 seats Seats won 12 9 Seat change 0 2 Popular vote 1,516,001 1,132,769 Percentage 44.5% 33.3% Swing 1.5 pp 6.0 pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Ilda Figueiredo Miguel Portas Party Democratic Unitarian Coalition Left Bloc Alliance GUE/NGL EACL Last election 2 seats 0 seats Seats won 2 1 Seat change 0 1 Popular vote 309,401 167,313 Percentage 9.1% 4.9% Swing 1.2 pp 3.1 pp

The European Parliament election of 2004 in Portugal was the election of MEPs representing Portugal for the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election. In Portugal the election was held on 13 June.

The Socialist Party (PS) was the big winner of the elections, achieving their best result in a European election ever. The party won 44.5% of the votes, an increase of 1.5%, and held on to the 12 seats won in 1999. However the Socialist victory, and the campaign overall, was overshadowed by the sudden death of the PS top candidate, António Sousa Franco. Sousa Franco died of a heart attack while campaigning in Matosinhos, just four days before election day. António Costa, number 2 on the list, became the Socialists' top candidate after Sousa Franco's death.

The Social Democrats (PSD) and the People's Party (CDS–PP) contested the election in a coalition called "Forward Portugal" (FP). The coalition had a very weak performance, winning just 33% of the votes, a big drop compared with the combined total of 39% the PSD+CDS had in 1999. The PSD lost two seats, while CDS–PP held on to their two seats.

The Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) dropped 1% and fell below 10% of the votes for the first time. CDU was still able to hold on to the two seats they had won in 1999. The Left Bloc (BE) gained a seat for the EU parliament for the first time, and saw its share of vote increase to almost 5%, an increase of more than 3% compared with 1999.

Turnout dropped compared with 1999, with 38.6% of voters casting a ballot.

Electoral System

The voting method used for the election of European members of parliament, is proportional representation using the d'Hondt method, which is known to benefit the largest parties slightly. In the 2004 EU elections, Portugal had 24 seats to be filled. Deputies are elected in a single constituency, corresponding to the entire national territory.

Parties and candidates

The major parties that partook in the election, and their EP list leaders, were:

• Left Bloc (BE), Miguel Portas
• Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU), Ilda Figueiredo
• Socialist Party (PS), António Costa
• Social Democratic Party (PSD)/People's Party (CDS–PP) Força Portugal, João de Deus Pinheiro

Opinion Polling

Date Released	Polling Firm	PS	FP	CDU	BE	Others	Lead
13 June 2004	Election Results	44.5 12 seats	33.3 9 seats	9.1 2 seats	4.9 1 seats	8.2 0 seats	11.2
13 June 2004	Exit Poll – RTP1 Universidade Católica	43.0–47.0 12 / 13	32.0–36.0 8 / 9	8.0–10.0 2 / 3	4.0–6.0 1	—	11.0
13 June 2004	Exit Poll – SIC Eurosondagem	44.1–47.9 12 / 13	29.7–33.5 8 / 9	10.1–11.9 2 / 3	5.1–6.9 1	—	14.4
13 June 2004	Exit Poll – TVI Intercampus	42.3–47.1 12 / 13	30.5–35.1 8 / 9	7.3–10.1 2	4.7–6.9 1	—	11.8 12.0
Exit polls
11 June 2004	Aximage	40.3	39.8	8.3	6.2	5.5	0.5
11 June 2004	Universidade Católica	44.0	37.0	8.0	5.0	6.0	7.0
11 June 2004	Eurosondagem	43.3	37.8	7.7	5.6	5.6	5.5
11 June 2004	Intercampus	42.4	27.5	12.6	6.7	10.9	14.9
9 June 2004	Marktest	49.2	37.4	6.3	5.0	2.1	11.8
5 June 2004	Aximage Seat projection	39.2 11 / 12	34.5 9 / 10	7.9 2	2.4 1	16.0 –	4.7
25 May 2004	Aximage	39.5	33.6	8.3	4.0	14.6	5.9
20 May 2004	TNS Euroteste	34.0	34.0	4.0	3.0	25.0	Tie
19 May 2004	Marktest	49.2	34.8	8.1	4.1	3.8	14.4
14 May 2004	Universidade Católica	44.3	40.7	5.4	5.2	4.4	3.6
7 May 2004	Aximage Seat projection	40.5 11	35.8 9	6.1 1	3.3 –	14.3 3	4.7
29 March 2004	Marktest	54.7	34.5	5.5	2.4	3.0	20.2
13 June 1999	Election Results	43.1 12 seats	39.31 11 seats	10.3 2 seats	1.8 0 seats	5.6 0 seats	3.8
1 Sum of votes and seats of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and of the People's Party (CDS–PP).

National summary of votes and seats

Vote share PS   44.52% FP   33.27% CDU   9.09% BE   4.91% PCTP/MRPP   1.07% PND   0.99% Others   2.19% Blank/Invalid   3.96%

Distribution by European group

Summary of political group distribution in the 6th European Parliament (2004–2009)

Groups		Parties	Seats	Total	%
bgcolor="Template:Party of European Socialists/meta/color"|	Party of European Socialists (PES)	Socialist Party (PS)	12	12	50.00
width="1" bgcolor="Template:European People's Party/meta/color"|	European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP–ED)	Social Democratic Party (PSD) People's Party (CDS–PP)	7 2	9	37.50
bgcolor="Template:European United Left–Nordic Green Left/meta/color"|	European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL)	Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) Left Bloc (BE)	2 1	3	12.50
Total			24	24	100.00

Maps

• 
  Most voted political force by district. (Azores and Madeira not shown)

External links

• Results according to the Portuguese Electoral Commission of the 13 June 2004 election of the 24 delegates from Portugal to the European Parliament

See also

• Politics of Portugal
• List of political parties in Portugal
• Elections in Portugal
• European Parliament