Snap legislative elections were held on 10 March 2024 to elect members of the Assembly of the Republic to the 16th Legislature of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. All 230 seats to the Assembly of the Republic were up for election. The elections were called in November 2023 after Prime Minister

António Costa António Luís Santos da Costa GCIH (; born 17 July 1961) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician serving as the 119th and current prime minister of Portugal since 26 November 2015, presiding over the XXI (2015–2019), XXII (2019–2022) and ...

's resignation following an investigation around alleged corruption involving the award of contracts for lithium and hydrogen businesses. No party achieved an absolute majority of seats, with the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) led by

Luís Montenegro Luís Filipe Montenegro Cardoso de Morais Esteves (born 16 February 1973) is a Portuguese politician who is the President of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). He was a member of the Assembly of the Republic from the Aveiro District from 2002 ...

winning 80 seats, closely followed by the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

(PS), which lost the absolute majority it had gained in the 2022 elections, and was reduced to 78 seats. The election also saw the surge of the right-wing populist

Chega Chega may refer to: * Chega, Iran, a village *Chega (political party), a political party in Portugal *Chega!, a report by the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor *"Chega", a 2020 song by Gaia Gozzi Gaia Gozzi, known as ...

party as the third-largest party in parliament, more than quadrupling its previous seat count to 50 seats. Turnout in the election was at 59.9 percent, the highest since 2005, and in Portugal alone, turnout rose to 66.2%, the highest rate since 1995. The leader of the largest party, Luis Montenegro, would go on to form a centre-right minority government ending nearly a decade of rule by the Socialist Party.

Background

The

(PS), led by Prime Minister

, won an absolute majority in the 2022 legislative election with 41 percent of the votes and 120 seats in the 230 seat Assembly of the Republic. The main opposition party, the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(PSD), got 77 seats and 29 percent of the votes, while the populist party

(''Enough'') gained 12 seats and seven percent. The

Liberal Initiative The Liberal Initiative ( pt, Iniciativa Liberal, , IL) is a liberal political party in Portugal currently led by João Cotrim de Figueiredo. In 2019, its debut year at the Portuguese legislative elections, the party won one seat in the Portugu ...

(IL) were able to win eight seats and gather almost five percent of the votes. The left-wing/far-left parties, the

Portuguese Communist Party The Portuguese Communist Party ( pt, Partido Comunista Português, , PCP) is a communist, Marxist–Leninist political party in Portugal based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself patriotic and internationalist,Portugue ...

(PCP) and the

Left Bloc Left Bloc may refer to: * Left Bloc (Portugal), a political party in Portugal * Left Bloc (Croatia), a political alliance in Croatia * Left Bloc (Hungary) The Left Bloc (in Hungarian: ''Baloldali Blokk'') was a political alliance in Hungary, f ...

(BE), achieved one of their worst results ever with four percent of the votes and six and five seats, respectively. PAN and LIVRE were able to win just one seat each. António Costa's third government was sworn in on 30 March 2022. This government was unstable and experienced several scandals and controversies. By mid-2023, the government had seen the resignations of 11 Secretaries of state and two

Ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. The biggest scandal involved TAP Air Portugal and a compensation payment to a government member, Alexandra Reis. This case was followed by an incident, in late April 2023, at the Ministry of Infrastructure building, between government staff members and an advisor to Infrastructure Minister

João Galamba João Saldanha de Azevedo Galamba (born 4 August 1976) is a Portuguese economist and politician. A member of the Socialist Party, he served as Minister of Infrastructure in the XXIII Constitutional Government of Portugal, between January and Nov ...

regarding an alleged stolen laptop. The use of the Portuguese Secret Services in this case generated a clash between Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is the incumbent president of Portugal, and Prime Minister António Costa concerning the future of Galamba and the government itself.

Fall of the previous government

On 7 November 2023, it was reported that the Public Security Police and the Public Prosecutor's office carried out a series of searches at the official residence of the Prime Minister and other ministries, and that the Prime Minister's chief of staff had been arrested. Costa was named as a suspect in a corruption case involving the awarding of contracts for the lithium and hydrogen businesses, but denied any wrongdoing. He met President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in the Presidential Palace and announced his resignation shortly after, stating that he would not run for re-election. The President heard all parties after Costa's resignation. The Socialist Party proposed a new cabinet led by President of the Assembly of the Republic Augusto Santos Silva or Governor of the Bank of Portugal

Mário Centeno Mário José Gomes de Freitas Centeno (born 9 December 1966) is a Portuguese economist, university professor, and politician. From 2015 to 2020, he was Minister of Finance of Portugal in the government cabinet of Prime Minister António Costa o ...

that would last until the end of the government's term in 2026, while all opposition parties, except PAN, supported an early election. The President has the power to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic at their discretion; they are not required to do so when a prime minister resigns. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, after meeting with the Council of State, dissolved the assembly and called an early election for 10 March 2024. The Prime Minister's resignation was not made official immediately; it was postponed until 8 December 2023, so that the

State Budget A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed spending/expenditure (Healthcare, Educat ...

for 2024 could be approved by parliament. This marked the first time a single party majority government has not completed its full term in democratic Portugal.

Date

According to the Portuguese Constitution, an election must be called between 14 September and 14 October of the year that the legislature ends. The election is called by the President of Portugal but is not called at the request of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

; however, the President must listen to all of the parties represented in Parliament and the election day must be announced at least 60 days before the election. If an election is called during an ongoing legislature (dissolution of parliament) it must be held at least after 55 days. Election day is the same in all multi-seat constituencies, and should fall on a Sunday or national holiday. In normal circumstances, the next legislative election would, therefore, have taken place no later than 11 October 2026. On 9 November 2023, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced he would dissolve the parliament and called an early election for 10 March 2024. On 15 January 2024, the President signed the decree that officially dissolved Parliament and set the date for the elections. Campaigning officially began on 25 February and lasted for two weeks.

Leadership changes and challenges

CDS – People's Party

In the 2022 elections, CDS – the People's Party was wiped out from Parliament for the first time in 47 years of democracy. CDS leader Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos resigned on election night and announced that a leadership ballot would be held. On 11 February, it was announced that a new leader would be elected in a party congress on 2 and 3 April 2022 held in

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...

MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...

Nuno Melo, former MP

Nuno Correia da Silva Nuno can refer to * Nuno (given name) :* Nuno Espirito Santo, football manager :* Nuno Tavares, football player * Nuño (given name) * Nuno felting, a fabric felting technique *'' Nuno'', meaning "ancestor" in Philippine languages, usually in refer ...

, 2016 leadership candidate

Miguel Mattos Chaves --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael (given name), Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands ...

and

Bruno Filipe Costa Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologn ...

announced they would contest the ballot. During the congress, Bruno Filipe Costa and Nuno Correia da Silva dropped out from the race. Nuno Melo was easily elected as leader with more than 77% of the votes. The results were the following: , - style="background-color:#0c68b0" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px", Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Nuno Melo , align=right , 854 , align=right , 77.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

, align=right , 104 , align=right , 9.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Others , align=right , 144 , align=right , 13.1 , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 1,102 , align=center , , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source
Observador

Social Democratic Party

After the Social Democratic Party's (PSD) defeat in the 2022 legislative election,

Rui Rio Rui Fernando da Silva Rio (born 6 August 1957) is a Portuguese economist and politician of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). He was the Mayor of Porto from 2002 to 2013. Between 2018 and 2022, he was President of the PSD and Leader of the Opp ...

announced he would resign and not run again for the PSD leadership, calling a leadership election to elect a new leader. The ballot was held on 28 May 2022.

, former PSD parliamentary group leader (2011–2018), and

Jorge Moreira da Silva Jorge Manuel Lopes Moreira da Silva GOIH (born 24 April 1971 in Vila Nova de Famalicão) is a Portuguese engineer and politician of the Social Democratic Party serving as the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services, ...

, former Environment minister (2013–2015), were the only candidates on the ballot. Around 45,000 party members, out of more than 85,000 active members, registered to vote. Montenegro defeated Moreira da Silva by a landslide, becoming the 19th leader of the PSD. The results were as follows: , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px", Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , bgcolor=orange, , align=left ,

, align=right , 19,241 , align=right , 72.5 , - , bgcolor=orange, , align=left ,

, align=right , 7,306 , align=right , 27.5 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Blank/Invalid ballots , align=right , 437 , align=right , – , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 26,984 , align=right , 60.46 , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source
Official results

Portuguese Communist Party

On 5 November 2022, the

(PCP) announced that

Jerónimo de Sousa Jerónimo Carvalho de Sousa (; born 13 April 1947) is a Portugal, Portuguese politician who served as General Secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party from the 17th Congress of the Party in November 2004 to the party's National Conference in N ...

, party leader since 2004, was departing from the leadership for health reasons and the demands that the post requires. The party chose

Paulo Raimundo Paulo Alexandre Raimundo (born 1976) is a Portugal, Portuguese politician who has served as General Secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party since the party's National Conference in November 2022. References

Portuguese Communist Pa ...

, a party employee and member since 1994, as new leader whose nomination was confirmed in a Central Committee meeting on 12 November 2022 by unanimous vote, with one abstention, from Raimundo himself. The results were the following: , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px", Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , bgcolor=#f00, , align=left ,

Portuguese Communist Pa ...

, align=right , 128 , align=right , 99.2 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Against , align=right , 0 , align=right , 0.0 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Abstention , align=right , 1 , align=right , 0.8 , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 129 , align=center , , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source
Observador

Liberal Initiative

On 23 October 2022, party leader

João Cotrim Figueiredo João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * ...

announced he was leaving

's party leadership and called a leadership election. Shortly after Cotrim's announcement, an MP

Rui Rocha Rui Nuno de Oliveira Garcia da Rocha (born 13 March 1970) is a Portuguese people, Portuguese politician who is the current President of the Liberal Initiative and a member of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal), Assembly of the Republic. B ...

from Braga constituency, stepped forward and announced his intention to run for the leadership. Two days later,

Carla Castro Carla Maria Proença de Castro Charters de Azevedo, better known as Carla Castro (Lisbon, 6 April 1978), is a manager, professor, and Portuguese politician. She currently serves as a Member of Parliament in the Assembly of the Republic for the ...

, a

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

MP, also presented her candidacy for the leadership. A few weeks later, the party decided on a date, and location, for the leadership ballot and the new leader would be elected in a National Convention between 21 and 22 January 2023 in

. A third candidate for the leadership,

José Cardoso José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, a critic of Figueiredo's leadership and strategy, announced his candidacy on 2 January 2023. Around 2,300 party members registered to vote in the leadership convention. Rui Rocha was elected as the 4th President of the Liberal Initiative with almost 52 percent of the votes. The results were the following: , - style="background-color:#0c68b0" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px", Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , bgcolor=#00ADEF, , align=left ,

, align=right , 888 , align=right , 51.7 , - , bgcolor=#00ADEF, , align=left ,

, align=right , 757 , align=right , 44.0 , - , bgcolor=#00ADEF, , align=left ,

, align=right , 74 , align=right , 4.3 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Blank/Invalid ballots , align=right , 9 , align=right , – , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 1,728 , align=right , 74.26 , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source
Diário de Notícias

People Animals Nature

People Animals Nature People–Animals–Nature ( pt, Pessoas-Animais-Natureza, PAN) is an environmentalist, animal rights and animal welfare focused political party in Portugal, founded in 2009. In 2015, they won one seat in the Assembly of the Republic.Inês Sousa Real Paula Inês Alves de Sousa Real (born 6 June 1980) is a Portuguese jurist and politician who is currently president of the People Animals Nature parliamentary group in the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal), Assembly of the Republic. At the PAN c ...

and

Nelson Silva Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, MP between 2019 and 2022. Silva accused Sousa Real of leading the party to irrelevance and said that now it's time to "save" and "rebuild" the party. In a rather tense congress, with strong accusations between both sides, Inês Sousa Real was re-elected party leader with 73 percent of the votes. The results were the following: , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px", Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , bgcolor=teal, , align=left ,

Inês Sousa Real Paula Inês Alves de Sousa Real (born 6 June 1980) is a Portuguese jurist and politician who is currently president of the People Animals Nature parliamentary group in the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal), Assembly of the Republic. At the PAN c ...

, align=right , 97 , align=right , 72.9 , - , bgcolor=teal, , align=left ,

, align=right , 35 , align=right , 26.3 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Blank/Invalid ballots , align=right , 1 , align=right , 0.8 , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 133 , align=center , , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source
Expresso

Left Bloc

On 14 February 2023, party coordinator

Catarina Martins Catarina Soares Martins (born 7 September 1973) is a Portuguese politician and actress. She is the national coordinator of the Left Bloc since 2012 and has been a member of the Assembly of the Republic for the Left Bloc since 2009. She traine ...

announced she would not run for another term as party leader. Her reasons were that the party needed someone new to lead it, that in the party there are not very long periods of leadership and that the "new political cycle" forces a change. A party leadership convention was held between 27 and 28 May 2023, in

. After MEP

Marisa Matias Marisa Isabel dos Santos Matias (Coimbra, 20 February 1976) is a Portuguese sociologist and Member of the European Parliament, elected for the first time in 2009 and re-elected in 2014. She currently sits on the Economic and Monetary Affairs (E ...

and caucus leader

Pedro Filipe Soares Pedro Filipe Gomes Soares (born 15 February 1979) is a Portuguese mathematician and politician of the Left Bloc. Born in Castelo de Paiva, Aveiro District, he graduated in Applied Mathematics from the University of Porto, and has a master's deg ...

declined to run, MP

Mariana Mortágua Mariana Rodrigues Mortágua (born 24 June 1986) is a Portuguese economist, politician, and current National Coordinator of the Left Bloc, serving since 28 May 2023. In 2013, she was elected to the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, replacing ...

decided to run for the party leadership. Her candidacy was confirmed on 27 February 2023. A list of critics of the then party leadership, led by former MP , opposed Mortágua in the convention ballot. On 28 May 2023,

was easily elected as new party coordinator with 83 percent of the delegates' votes. The results were the following: , - style="background-color:#0c68b0" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px", Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

, align=right , 439 , align=right , 83.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , , align=right , 78 , align=right , 14.8 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Abstentions , align=right , 11 , align=right , 2.1 , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 528 , align=right , 80.74 , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source
CNN Portugal

Socialist Party

After the resignation of

as Prime Minister on 7 November 2023, following the Operation Influencer corruption investigation, and his announcement that he would not run again for office, the Socialist Party (PS) held a leadership election to elect a new leader on 15 and 16 December 2023. On 9 November 2023, former Minister of Infrastructure and Housing

Pedro Nuno Santos Pedro Nuno de Oliveira Santos (born 13 April 1977) is a Portuguese economist and politician, who is the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party. Santos previously held positions in the Portuguese Government under António Costa, first as Secre ...

announced his candidacy for the party leadership, while Minister of Internal Administration

José Luís Carneiro José Luís Pereira Carneiro (born 4 October 1971) is a Portuguese politician from the Socialist Party. Political career He has been Minister of Internal Administration in the XXIII Constitutional Government of Portugal The XXIII Cons ...

announced his intention to run on the following day. On 18 November 2023, Daniel Adrião, a member of the National Commission of PS and candidate in the PS leadership elections of 2016, 2018 and 2021, announced his candidacy. On 16 December, Pedro Nuno Santos was easily elected with almost 61 percent of the votes, compared with 37 percent for José Luís Carneiro. The results were the following: , - style="background-color:#0c68b0" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px", Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

, align=right , 24,219 , align=right , 60.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

, align=right , 14,891 , align=right , 37.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Daniel Adrião , align=right , 382 , align=right , 1.0 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Blank/Invalid ballots , align=right , 322 , align=right , 0.8 , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 39,814 , align=right , 68.65 , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source
Official results

Electoral system

The Assembly of the Republic has 230 members elected for four-year terms. Governments do not require an absolute majority support of the Assembly to hold office, as even if the number of opposition MPs is larger than that of its supporters, the opposition still needs to be equal to or greater than 116 (absolute majority) for both the Government's Programme to be rejected or for a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

to be approved. The number of seats assigned to each district depends on the

district magnitude An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

. The use of the

d'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...

makes for a higher effective threshold than certain other allocation methods such as the

Hare quota The Hare quota (also known as the simple quota) is a formula used under some forms of proportional representation. In these voting systems the quota is the number of votes that guarantees a candidate, or a party in some cases, captures a seat. Th ...

or Sainte-Laguë method, which are more generous to small parties. The distribution of MPs by electoral district for the 2024 legislative election is the following:

Early voting

Voters were also able to vote early, which happened on 3 March, one week before election day. Voters had to register between 25 and 29 February 2024 in order to be eligible to cast an early ballot. By 29 February deadline, 208,007 voters had requested to vote early, a number well below the 2022 figures. On 3 March, 180,835 voters (86.9 percent of voters that requested) cast an early ballot.

Parties

Parties and/or coalitions that intended to run had until 29 January 2024 to file lists of candidates. Eighteen parties and/or coalitions filed lists to contest the election. The

(PSD),

CDS – People's Party The CDS – People's Party ( pt, CDS – Partido Popular, derived from ''Centro Democrático e Social – Partido Popular'', CDS–PP)

(CDS–PP) and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM) contested the election in a coalition called '' Democratic Alliance'' (AD). This coalition was on the ballot in

mainland Portugal Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in Continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and 9 ...

and the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. In

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, the coalition was only between the PSD and CDS–PP, called '' Madeira First''. PPM ran alone in Madeira. The

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

(PCP) renewed their coalition with the

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

(PEV), ''Unitary Democratic Coalition'' (CDU), as has been the case since 1987. The

Earth Party The Earth Party ( pt, Partido da Terra, ), previously called The Earth Party Movement (, abbreviated MPT, hence called ''MPT – Partido da Terra''), is a green-conservative political party in Portugal, founded on 12 August 1993. Its main poli ...

(MPT) and Alliance (A) also contested the election under a coalition called ''Alternative 21'' (A21).

Parliamentary factions

The table below lists the parties and/or coalitions represented in the Assembly of the Republic during the 15th legislature (2022–2024) and that also contested the 2024 elections:

Non-represented parties

The table below lists the parties and/or coalitions not represented in the Assembly of the Republic and that also ran in the elections.

Rejected

Campaign

Issues

The issue of governability after the elections, which party would let the other govern or not, was central during the campaign. The Socialist Party (PS) leader

changed positions regarding the scenario of a Democratic Alliance (AD) minority, with first being against it but, as the official campaign started, gave his openness to letting the AD govern. AD leader

, initially against the idea of letting the PS govern, also changed his tone but created speculation regarding his position.

Healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

were also crucial issues for voters, according to surveys. In an interview with ''

Expresso Expresso may refer to: * Espresso, a coffee beverage * eXpresso, a hosted workspace for Microsoft Office communities * Expresso (Donkey Kong), a character in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series * ''Expresso'' (newspaper), based in Lisbon, Portug ...

'' on 8 March, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that he would do everything in his ability to prevent Chega from gaining power, drawing criticism due to his position's mandate of neutrality. In a televised address on 9 March, Rebelo de Sousa called for people to vote, citing the risk of economic problems caused by elections in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

and the United States later in the year, and the ongoing conflicts in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Although economic indicators have been improving since 2014 – growth of 2.3 percent in 2023, well above the European average (0.5 percent), an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent and public debt falling below 100 percent of gross domestic product – discontent prevailed in Portugal, particularly due to the lack of response to social issues. The country was facing and soaring rent prices, a deteriorating public health and education system, shortages of teachers and doctors, very low wages and several years of inflation.

Party slogans of represented parties

Candidates' debates

With parties represented in Parliament

With parties not represented in Parliament

Opinion polling

Polling aggregations

Voter turnout

The table below shows voter turnout throughout election day including voters from Overseas. Turnout was higher in this election, with a record 6.5 million voters casting a ballot, thus surpassing the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

record. In Portugal alone, turnout stood at 66.2 percent, an increase of more than eight percent compared with 2022, and the best turnout share since

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Results

The final results of the election were released late on 20 March, when the counting of overseas ballots that constitute four seats was concluded. In the closest legislative election in Portuguese history, the Democratic Alliance narrowly won, gathering 28.8 percent of the votes and winning 80 seats. The Alliance won all districts in the North Region and recovered their support in strongholds such as

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

and Viseu districts. During election day, AD issued a warning that many voters were casting ballots for the National Democratic Alternative (ADN) due to confusion surrounding the similar name and abbreviation on ballot papers. On election night, ADN won more than 100,000 votes and many considered that this confusion between the names may have "stolen" seats from the Democratic Alliance. The

(PS) won 28 percent of the votes and 78 seats. Despite the narrow margin between the Alliance and the Socialists, the PS fell 13 points and lost more than 40 seats compared with the 2022 election. On election night, leader

conceded defeat and said that the PS would be part of the opposition.

made large gains, winning 18 percent of the vote and receiving nearly 1.2 million votes. The party also won 50 seats and received the most votes in

Faro district Faro District ( pt, Distrito de Faro ) is the southernmost district of Portugal, coincident with the Algarve region. The administrative centre, or district capital, is the city of Faro. Municipalities The district is composed of 16 municipalit ...

, the first time since the 1991 legislative election that a third party won a district. The

(IL) held on to their eight seats and their vote share from 2022, earning 4.9 percent of the vote; however, the results were below the party's expectations. The

(BE) also performed below expectations by retaining their five seats from 2022 and winning exactly the same vote share in 2022 at 4.4 percent. The Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU), composed by the

and the Ecologist Party "The Greens", lost seats. The CDU won four seats, a decrease of two compared with 2022, and just 3.2 percent of the votes, their worst nationwide electoral performance to date. The coalition further lost their historic seat in

Beja district The Beja District () is located in southern Portugal. The district capital is the city of Beja. It is the largest district of the country by area, and constitutes around 11% of its area. Municipalities The district is composed of 14 municipali ...

; for the first time under democratic rule, it also lost all MPs in the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

region. LIVRE received almost the same number of votes as the CDU, winning 3.2 percent of the votes, and electing four seats from

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

and

Setúbal district The District of Setúbal ( pt, Distrito de Setúbal ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal. Geography It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Év ...

, and won 2 percent of the votes.

National summary

Distribution by constituency

, - class="unsortable" !rowspan=2, Constituency!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S !rowspan=2, Total
S , - class="unsortable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan=2 , PS !colspan=2 , AD !colspan=2 , CH !colspan=2 , IL !colspan=2 , BE !colspan=2 , CDU !colspan=2 , L !colspan=2 , MF !colspan=2 , PAN , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 29.2 , 2 , style="background:; color:white;", 39.8 , 2 , 15.8 , 1 , 2.7 , – , 3.4 , – , 1.1 , – , 1.7 , – , colspan="2" rowspan="12" bgcolor="#AAAAAA", , 1.6 , – , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Aveiro , 27.7 , 5 , style="background:; color:white;", 35.1 , 7 , 17.3 , 3 , 5.1 , 1 , 4.1 , – , 1.4 , – , 2.2 , – , 1.7 , – , 16 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Beja , style="background:; color:white;", 31.7 , 1 , 16.7 , 1 , 21.6 , 1 , 2.2 , – , 4.4 , – , 15.0 , – , 1.8 , – , 1.2 , – , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Braga , 28.2 , 6 , style="background:; color:white;", 33.2 , 8 , 16.9 , 4 , 6.1 , 1 , 3.8 , – , 1.8 , – , 2.3 , – , 1.4 , – , 19 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Bragança , 29.6 , 1 , style="background:; color:white;", 40.0 , 2 , 18.2 , – , 1.7 , – , 1.9 , – , 1.1 , – , 1.0 , – , 0.8 , – , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Castelo Branco , style="background:; color:white;", 34.2 , 2 , 28.5 , 1 , 19.5 , 1 , 2.7 , – , 4.1 , – , 2.2 , – , 2.0 , – , 1.3 , – , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 32.7 , 4 , 30.6 , 3 , 15.5 , 2 , 4.0 , – , 5.1 , – , 2.8 , – , 2.8 , – , 1.6 , – , 9 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 32.8 , 1 , 22.4 , 1 , 20.0 , 1 , 2.6 , – , 4.3 , – , 10.9 , – , 2.0 , – , 1.1 , – , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Faro , 25.5 , 3 , 22.4 , 3 , style="background:#202056; color:white;" , 27.2 , 3 , 4.6 , – , 5.8 , – , 3.2 , – , 2.8 , – , 2.6 , – , 9 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Guarda , 31.9 , 1 , style="background:; color:white;", 34.1 , 1 , 18.6 , 1 , 2.3 , – , 2.7 , – , 1.6 , – , 1.4 , – , 1.0 , – , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 22.5 , 3 , style="background:; color:white;", 35.2 , 5 , 19.7 , 2 , 5.7 , – , 4.3 , – , 2.4 , – , 2.6 , – , 1.7 , – , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="background:; color:white;", 27.7 , 15 , 27.0 , 14 , 17.0 , 9 , 6.6 , 3 , 5.0 , 2 , 3.7 , 2 , 5.5 , 2 , 2.5 , 1 , 48 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 19.8 , 2 , colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA", , 17.6 , 1 , 3.9 , – , 2.9 , – , 1.6 , – , 1.2 , – , style="background:; color:white;", 35.4 , 3 , 2.1 , – , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Portalegre , style="background:; color:white;", 34.1 , 1 , 23.3 , – , 24.6 , 1 , 1.9 , – , 3.1 , – , 5.9 , – , 1.4 , – , colspan="2" rowspan="9" bgcolor="#AAAAAA", , 0.8 , – , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 30.3 , 13 , style="background:; color:white;", 30.4 , 14 , 15.3 , 7 , 5.7 , 2 , 4.7 , 2 , 2.4 , 1 , 3.4 , 1 , 2.1 , – , 40 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Santarém , style="background:; color:white;", 27.9 , 3 , 27.3 , 3 , 23.3 , 3 , 3.8 , – , 4.5 , – , 4.1 , – , 2.5 , – , 1.6 , – , 9 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 31.3 , 7 , 17.2 , 4 , 20.3 , 4 , 5.4 , 1 , 6.0 , 1 , 7.7 , 1 , 4.3 , 1 , 2.6 , – , 19 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...

, 28.2 , 2 , style="background:; color:white;", 34.7 , 2 , 18.6 , 1 , 3.6 , – , 3.5 , – , 2.2 , – , 2.0 , – , 1.4 , – , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Vila Real , 29.6 , 2 , style="background:; color:white;", 39.3 , 2 , 17.1 , 1 , 2.0 , – , 2.5 , – , 1.4 , – , 1.4 , – , 0.9 , – , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Viseu , 27.5 , 3 , style="background:; color:white;", 36.4 , 3 , 19.5 , 2 , 2.8 , – , 2.8 , – , 1.4 , – , 1.7 , – , 1.2 , – , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Europe , 16.2 , 1 , 14.2 , – , style="background:#202056; color:white;" , 18.3 , 1 , 2.4 , – , 2.7 , – , 1.0 , – , 1.7 , – , 2.2 , – , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Outside Europe , 14.6 , – , style="background:; color:white;", 22.9 , 1 , 18.3 , 1 , 1.9 , – , 1.9 , – , 0.8 , – , 0.7 , – , 2.4 , – , 2 , - class="unsortable" style="background:#E9E9E9" , style="text-align:left;" , Total , 28.0 , 78 , style="background:; color:white;", 28.0 , 77 , 18.1 , 50 , 4.9 , 8 , 4.4 , 5 , 3.2 , 4 , 3.2 , 4 , 0.8 , 3 , 1.9 , 1 , 230 , - , colspan=23 style="text-align:left;" , Source
Official results page

Maps

File:2024 vencedor concelho.svg, 2024 election by municipality: AD/MF (orange), PS (pink), CH (blue)

Demographics

Aftermath

Following the release of the results, Luis Montenegro claimed victory on behalf of AD early on 11 March, while Pedro Nuno Santos conceded defeat on behalf of his party. Santos discounted the prospect of forming a left-leaning coalition. Minister of Finance

Fernando Medina Fernando Medina Maciel Almeida Correia (born 10 March 1973) is a Portuguese economist and politician Socialist Party (PS) who has been serving as Minister of Finance in the government of Prime Minister António Costa since 2022. He previously ser ...

, who had been considered as a possible replacement as leader of the PS, said that the defeat was due to the entire party and not Santos' leadership. Chega's André Ventura said that the results showed that the "two-party system in Portugal is finished." His party was congratulated by representatives of European right-wing populist parties for its performance. Montenegro reiterated that he would not come to a political agreement with Chega. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was a member of the PSD prior to his election, met with political parties between 14 March and 20 March, told ''

'' on 8 March that he would do what he could to prevent Chega from gaining power. His remarks attracted criticism because the country's president is mandated to remain neutral. Liberal Initiative leader Rui Rocha said that it was the responsibility of other parties to lead the formation of a government, but that his party would contribute as long as any proposals excluded Chega. CDU leader Paulo Raimundo blamed what he saw as misgovernance by the PS for the right-wing gains in the election, while PAN spokesperson Inês Sousa Real blamed President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in part for Chega's advances. Mariana Mortágua of the Left Bloc said that her party would either be a part of any left-leaning coalition or oppose any right-leaning government, and LIVRE leader Rui Tavares expressed satisfaction that his party grew to four seats and could form a parliamentary group for the first time.Pedro Nuno Santos said in his concession speech that the PS would not vote in favor of a motion of rejection of the AD government, although he also said that "AD should not count on the support of PS to govern", implying that his party would vote against the AD government's State Budgets. André Ventura said that Chega would vote against the State Budgets unless AD negotiated with it. On 21 March, Luis Montenegro was formally asked by President Rebelo de Sousa to form a minority government following the latter's consultations with party leaders. The final, certified election results were published in the Portuguese official journal, ''

Diário da República The ''Diário da República'' (DR) is the official gazette of Portugal. Between 1869 and 1976, it was called the ''Diário do Governo''. It is published by the National Printing House and comprises two series. Laws, decree-laws, decisions by th ...

'', on 23 March 2024. The new government was then presented and approved by President Rebelo de Sousa on 28 March and took office on 2 April.

Notes

References

External links

Marktest Opinion Poll Tracker

Official results site, Portuguese Justice Ministry

Portuguese Electoral Commission

ERC – Official publication of polls

{{Portuguese elections

Legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

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