Elections in Portugal
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Elections in Portugal gives information on election and election results in Portugal.
Only the elections since the Carnation Revolution of 1974 are listed here. During the period encompassing the Constitutional Monarchy and the First Republic there were also elections, but only for a limited universe of voters. During the Estado Novo regime, from 1926 to 1974, the few elections held were not up to the democratic standards of their time and never resulted in power transfer.
Portugal elects on a national level the President and the national Parliament, the Assembly of the Republic. The President is elected for a five-year term by the people while the Parliament has 230 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies, the districts. Also on a national level, Portugal elects 21 members of the European Parliament.
The Autonomous Regions of Azores and Madeira elect their own regional government for a four-year term, usually on the same day. The first regional elections were held in 1976.
On a local level, 308 Municipal Chambers and Municipal Assemblies and 3,092[1] Parish Assemblies are elected for a four-year term in separate elections that usually occur on the same day.
Contents
Latest elections[edit]
2015 Parliamentary election[edit]
| Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | MPs | MPs %/ votes % |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2015 | ± | % | ± | ||||||
| Portugal Ahead (PSD / CDS–PP)[a] | 1,993,504 | 36.86 | 124 | 102 | 44.35 | 1.20 | ||||
| Socialist Party | 1,747,730 | 32.32 | 74 | 86 | 37.39 | 1.16 | ||||
| Left Bloc | 550,945 | 10.19 | 8 | 19 | 8.26 | 0.81 | ||||
| Democratic Unity Coalition | 445,901 | 8.25 | 16 | 17 | 7.39 | 0.90 | ||||
| Social Democratic[b] | 81,041 | 1.49 | N/A | 7 | 5 | 2.17 | 1.45 | |||
| People-Animals-Nature | 75,170 | 1.39 | 0 | 1 | 0.43 | 0.31 | ||||
| Democratic Republican | 61,920 | 1.13 | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A | 0.00 | N/A | 0.0 | |
| Workers' Communist Party | 60,045 | 1.11 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | ||||
| FREE/Time to move Foward | 39,330 | 0.73 | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A | 0.00 | N/A | 0.0 | |
| National Renovator Party | 27,286 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | ||||
| Earth Party | 22,627 | 0.42 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | ||||
| We, the Citizens! | 21,382 | 0.40 | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A | 0.00 | N/A | 0.0 | |
| Labour / Socialist Alternative (ACT!) | 20,793 | 0.38 | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A | 0.00 | N/A | 0.0 | |
| People's Monarchist | 14,916 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | ||||
| Together for the People | 14,275 | 0.26 | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A | 0.00 | N/A | 0.0 | |
| United Party of Retirees and Pensioners | 13,899 | 0.26 | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A | 0.00 | N/A | 0.0 | |
| People's[c] | 7,496 | 0.14 | N/A | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | |||
| People's / People's Monarchist[d] | 3,624 | 0.07 | N/A | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | |||
| Christian Democratic and Citizenship | 2,685 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | ||||
| Labour[e] | 1,744 | 0.03 | N/A | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | |||
| Total valid | 5,206,113 | 96.27 | 230 | 230 | 100.00 | — | ||||
| Blank ballots | 112,955 | 2.09 | ||||||||
| Invalid ballots | 89,024 | 1.65 | ||||||||
| Total (turnout 55.84%) | 5,408,092 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Source: Diário da República - Resultados Oficias | ||||||||||
2011 Presidential election[edit]
| Candidates | Supporting parties | First round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | |||
| Aníbal Cavaco Silva | Social Democratic Party, People's Party, Hope for Portugal Movement | 2,231,956 | 52.95 | |
| Manuel Alegre | Socialist Party, Left Bloc, Democratic Party of the Atlantic, Workers' Communist Party | 831,838 | 19.74 | |
| Fernando Nobre | Independent | 593,021 | 14.07 | |
| Francisco Lopes | Portuguese Communist Party, Ecologist Party "The Greens" | 301,017 | 7.14 | |
| José Manuel Coelho | New Democracy Party | 189,918 | 4.51 | |
| Defensor Moura | Independent | 67,110 | 1.59 | |
| Total valid | 4,214,860 | 100.00 | ||
| Blank ballots | 192,127 | 4.28 | ||
| Invalid ballots | 85,466 | 1.90 | ||
| Total (turnout 46.52%) | 4,492,453 | |||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições | ||||
Past elections and referendums[edit]
Election results 1975-2015[edit]
| Parties (listed by date of foundation) | 1975* | 1976 | 1979 | 1980 | 1983 | 1985 | 1987 | 1991 | 1995 | 1999 | 2002 | 2005 | 2009 | 2011 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) | 12.5 | 14.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Portuguese Democratic Movement (MDP) | 4.1 | - | - | - | - | - | 0.6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Socialist Party (PS) | 37.9 | 34.9 | 27.3 | 1.1 | 36.1 | 20.8 | 22.2 | 29.1 | 43.8 | 44.1 | 37.8 | 45.0 | 36.6 | 28.1 | 32.3 |
| Social Democratic Party (PSD) | 26.4 | 24.4 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 27.2 | 29.9 | 50.2 | 50.6 | 34.1 | 32.3 | 40.2 | 28.8 | 29.1 | 38.7 | 1.5 |
| People´s Party (CDS–PP) | 7.6 | 16.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 12.6 | 10.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 9.1 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 7.2 | 10.4 | 11.7 | 0.2 |
| People's Democratic Union (UDP) | 0.8 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.6 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| United People Alliance (APU) | - | - | 18.8 | 16.8 | 18.1 | 15.5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Democratic Alliance (AD) | - | - | 42.5 | 44.9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Republican and Socialist Front (FRS) | - | - | - | 26.7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Democratic Renewal Party (PRD) | - | - | - | - | - | 17.9 | 4.9 | 0.6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12.1 | 8.8 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.3 |
| National Solidarity Party (PSN) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Left Bloc (BE) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.4 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 9.8 | 5.2 | 10.2 |
| People-Animals-Nature (PAN) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1.4 |
| Portugal Ahead (PàF) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 36.9 |
| Other parties; Invalid votes | 10.7 | 8.6 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 7.5 | 9.2 |
| Turnout | 91.7 | 83.5 | 82.9 | 83.9 | 77.8 | 74.2 | 71.6 | 67.8 | 66.3 | 61.1 | 61.5 | 64.3 | 59.7 | 58.0 | 55.9 |
| *The 1975 election was for the Constituent Assembly. | |||||||||||||||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições | |||||||||||||||
Autonomous Regions elections[edit]
Portugal has two autonomous regions, Azores and Madeira, that elect their own representatives for the regional parliaments every 4 years. The first elections were in 1976 and usually they were both held in the same day until 2007 when Madeira held an early election and Azores held its election the next year. The last election in Azores was in 2012, and the next election is scheduled for October 2016 ; Madeira held a snap election in March 2015.
European Parliament elections[edit]
- European Parliament election, 1987
- European Parliament election, 1989
- European Parliament election, 1994
- European Parliament election, 1999
- European Parliament election, 2004
- European Parliament election, 2009
- European Parliament election, 2014
Referendums[edit]
The Constitution of Portugal defines referendum in Article 115.[2] The referendum is called by the President of Portugal, on a proposal submitted by the Assembly or the Government. The President can refuse a proposal for referendum submitted to him by the Assembly or the Government if it is found to be unconstitutional or illegal. Referendums are binding if turnout is higher than 50% of registered voters.
Citizens of Portugal have the right to submit to the Assembly an initiative for a referendum.
The referendum can be held only on "important issues concerning the national interest which the Assembly of the Republic or the Government must decide by approving an international convention or passing a legislative act" (paragraph 3[2]). The referendum cannot be held on amendments to the Constitution, budget, taxes, finances and competences of the Assembly, except when issue is the object of an international convention, except when the international convention concerns peace or the rectification of borders.
There have been four nation-wide referendums in the History of Portugal:
- Constitutional referendum, in 1933
- First abortion referendum, in 1998
- Regionalization referendum, in 1998
- Second abortion referendum, in 2007
The Constitutional referendum of 1933 did not comply with the standards of a democratic suffrage, as, for example, abstentions were counted as supportive votes. It resulted in the establishing of the Estado Novo regime.
The later three referendums, held in the context of a Western-style liberal democracy had turnout less than 50%, so they were not binding. Nonetheless, decissions of all three referendums were honoured.
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ DGAI - Reorganização Administrativa do Território das Freguesias - (RATF)
- ^ a b "Constitution of Protugal" (PDF). Party Law in Modern Europe. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
External links[edit]
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- Parties and elections
- Election results
- Comissão Nacional de Eleições
- Portuguese General Elections since 1820
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