The 2009 Portuguese legislative election was held on 27 September, to renew all 230 members of the Assembly of the Republic. 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 ...

, led by incumbent Prime Minister José Sócrates, won the largest number of seats, but didn't repeat the

overall majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster 2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

. The Socialist Party of Prime Minister José Sócrates came in first despite losing 9% of the vote and 24 seats. In these elections there were approximately 9.5 million Portuguese at home and abroad called to determine the 230 seats in the Assembleia da República and 18th constitutional government in Portugal after 1976. The Socialists won the election with a clear lead over the conservative Social Democrats, with big gains for the People's Party and for the Left Bloc. The election took place during the regular end of the previous four-year legislative period. From 2005 to 2009 ruled by the Socialist Party (PS), led by José Sócrates, with an absolute majority. The opinion polls at the beginning of the official election campaign on 12 September 2009, showed a too close to call race between the Socialists and the conservative Social Democrats, but just days before the election the Socialists increased their lead over the Social Democrats. A total of 13 parties and two coalitions competed in this election. Focus of the campaign was the impact of global economic, the financial crisis and the construction of new infrastructure projects, including the high-speed rail link Lisbon-Madrid and Lisbon-Porto-Vigo, and the new Lisbon airport. Neither of the two major parties won an absolute majority in the Assembly of the Republic, so, the future prime minister had to form a coalition, or at least rely on other parties to govern. In that case, José Sócrates was in a better position than Manuela Ferreira Leite, since the Portuguese left won by 54.23% of the vote and 128 seats, against 39.54% and 102 deputies to the right. On 12 October, José Sócrates was invited by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Aníbal Cavaco Silva Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Order of Christ (Portugal), GCC, Order of Liberty, GColL, Order of Prince Henry, GColIH (; born 15 July 1939) is a Portuguese economist who served as the 19th president of Portugal, in office from 9 March 2006 to 9 ...

to form government. The new cabinet was announced on 22 October and sworn in on 26 October.

Voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

was one of the lowest in Portuguese election history, as 59.7% of the electorate cast a ballot.

Background

In the February 2005 early elections, the Socialists, under the leadership of José Sócrates, won 45% of the votes and 121 MPs, the 1st time the Socialists won a majority and the 1st time a single party won a majority since Cavaco Silva's PSD victory in 1991. The PSD suffered a heavy defeat, achieving their worst results since 1983, and faced with this failure, the then PSD leader and outgoing Prime Minister, Pedro Santana Lopes, resigned from the leadership and called an election for party chair. During the first months in his government, Sócrates raised taxes to cut the deficit and initiated a policy of strict budgetary rigor. At the same time, he faced a very harsh summer with Wildfires across the country. That same October, the Socialists suffered a heavy defeat in the 2005 local elections, winning just 108 cities, a drop of 4, against the PSD's 158 mayoral holds. The PS was also unable to retake control of

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. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

and

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 metropo ...

. In January 2006, a new president was elected.

, PM between 1985 and 1995, became the first center-right candidate to win a

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

, although only just. The PS candidate, former PM and President Mário Soares polled a disappointing third place with just 14% of the votes. In 2007, a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

for the legalization of abortion was held. After the failure of the 1998 referendum, the Yes side prevailed winning 59% of the votes against the No's 41%, making abortion legal in Portugal. While the deficit reduction had been successful, and with the economy growing above 2% of GDP, the government faced heavy opposition for its policies, particularly from teachers unions. In March 2008, more than 100,000 teachers protested in Lisbon against Sócrates and his Education minister,

Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues Maria de Lurdes Reis Rodrigues (19 March 1956, Lisbon) is a Portuguese Professor of Sociology and former politician, associate professor (with Habilitation) and rector of ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon, where she has taught since 1986. ...

. Entering 2009, Portugal was strongly hit by the effects of the financial crisis that was shaking the global economy, and, therefore, the country entered in a recession. As a result, the government adopted stimulus measures that worsened the public finances and increased the deficit and the debt. In the European elections of June 7, 2009, the PSD stunned pundits by winning a European election for the first time since 1989, with 31.7% of the votes. The Socialists suffered a huge defeat, winning just 26% of the votes, a drop of 18%.

Leadership changes

PSD 2005 leadership election

In the party's congress in April 2005, Luís Marques Mendes became party leader winning 56% of the delegates, against the 44% of his rival,

Luís Filipe Menezes Luís Filipe de Menezes Lopes (born 2 November 1953) is a Portuguese politician. Background He is a son of José António Lopes (Porto, Alvar, 10 September 1925 –), an Industrialist (son and paternal grandson of cattle dealers and maternal ...

.. 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=orange, , align=left , Luís Marques Mendes , align=right , 497 , align=right , 56.6 , - , bgcolor=orange, , align=left ,

, align=right , 381 , align=right , 43.4 , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 878 , align=center , , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source:

CDS–PP 2005 leadership election

CDS–PP leader

Paulo Portas Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas (born 12 September 1962, ) is a Portuguese media and political figure, who has, since the 1990s, been one of Portugal's leading conservative politicians. He was the leader of one of Portugal's right-wing parties, t ...

, resigned from the leadership following the disappointing result of the party in the 2005 elections saying that ''"in no civilized country in the world, the difference between Trotskyists and Christian Democrats is one percent"'', referring to the result of the BE. A snap leadership congress was called to elect a new leader. Two candidates were in the ballot:

Telmo Correia Telmo may refer to: People * Saint Telmo (died 303), also known as Erasmus of Formia, Christian martyr and saint * Pedro González Telmo (1190-1246), Castilian friar and priest * Luis Telmo Paz y Miño (1884-1962), President of the Supreme Milit ...

, the preferred candidate of Paulo Portas, and José Ribeiro e Castro, more critical of Portas. Ribeiro e Castro was easily elected and 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=, , align=left , José Ribeiro e Castro , align=right , 492 , align=right , 56.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

, align=right , 387 , align=right , 44.0 , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 879 , align=center , , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source:

CDS–PP 2007 leadership election

In April 2007, former CDS–PP leader

challenged the then party leader, José Ribeiro e Castro, for the leadership and was elected for his former job by a landslide.. 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=, , align=left ,

, align=right , 5,642 , align=right , 74.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , José Ribeiro e Castro , align=right , 1,883 , align=right , 24.9 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Blank/Invalid ballots , align=right , 38 , align=right , 0.5 , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 7,563 , align=center , , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source:

PSD 2007 leadership election

In the Social Democratic Party, incumbent leader Luís Marques Mendes was being very criticized for his opposition strategy and was left weakened after the PSD disappointing result in the 2007 Lisbon mayoral by-election, where the PSD polled 3rd with less than 16% of the votes. Marques Mendes called a snap leadership election and was challenged by his rival in the 2005 PSD congress,

. Menezes easily defeated Marques Mendes. 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=orange, , align=left ,

, align=right , 21,101 , align=right , 53.6 , - , bgcolor=orange, , align=left , Luís Marques Mendes , align=right , 16,973 , align=right , 43.1 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Blank/Invalid ballots , align=right , 1,279 , align=right , 3.3 , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , 39,353 , align=right , 62.42 , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source:

PSD 2008 leadership election

The then PSD leader,

, elected in September 2007, resigned after just 6 months in the job. In the following leadership elections, held in May 2008, Manuela Ferreira Leite became the first woman to lead a major party in Portugal, winning 38% of the votes, against the 31% of Pedro Passos Coelho and the 30% of Pedro Santana Lopes. 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=orange, , align=left , Manuela Ferreira Leite , align=right , 17,278 , align=right , 37.9 , - , bgcolor=orange, , align=left , Pedro Passos Coelho , align=right , 14,160 , align=right , 31.1 , - , bgcolor=orange, , align=left , Pedro Santana Lopes , align=right , 13,495 , align=right , 29.6 , - , bgcolor=orange, , align=left , Patinha Antão , align=right , 308 , align=right , 0.7 , - , colspan=2 align=left , Blank/Invalid ballots , align=right , 351 , align=right , 0.8 , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align= 45,592 , align=right , 59.13 , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source:

Electoral system

The Assembly of the Republic has 230 members elected to four-year terms. Governments do not require absolute majority support of the Assembly to hold office, as even if the number of opposers of government is larger than that of the supporters, the number of opposers still needs to be equal 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 pol ...

. 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 highes ...

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. T ...

or Sainte-Laguë method, which are more generous to small parties. For these elections, and compared with the 2005 elections, the MPs distributed by districts were the following:

Parties

The table below lists the parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic during the 10th legislature (2005–2009) and that also partook in the election:

Campaign period

Party slogans

Candidates' debates

Opinion polling

Results

National summary

, - , colspan=11, AR Eleicoes 2009

, - ! rowspan="2" colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;" alignleft, Parties ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Votes ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , % ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , ± pp

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...

! colspan="5" style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , MPs ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , MPs %/
votes % , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" , 2009 ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , ± ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , ± , - , , 2,077,238, , 36.56, , 8.4, , 121, , 97, , 24, , 42.17, , 10.4, , 1.15 , - , , 1,653,665, , 29.11, , 0.3, , 71, , 81, , 10, , 35.22, , 4.3, , 1.21 , - , , 592,778, , 10.43, , 3.1, , 12, , 21, , 9, , 9.13, , 3.9, , 0.88 , - , , 557,306, , 9.81, , 3.4, , 8, , 16, , 8, , 6.96, , 3.5, , 0.71 , - , , 446,279, , 7.86, , 0.3, , 14, , 15, , 1, , 6.52, , 0.4, , 0.83 , - , , 52,761, , 0.93, , 0.1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0.00, , 0.0, , 0.0 , - , , 25,949, , 0.46, , , , , , 0, , , , 0.00, , , , 0.0 , - , , 21,876, , 0.38, , 0.3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0.00, , 0.0, , 0.0 , - , , 16,924, , 0.30, , , , , , 0, , , , 0.00, , , , 0.0 , - , , 15,262, , 0.27, , , , 2, , 0, , 2, , 0.00, , 0.9, , 0.0 , - , style="width:10px;background-color:#013220;text-align:center;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Ecology and Humanism Front , 12,405, , 0.22, , , , , , 0, , , , 0.00, , , , 0.0 , - , , 11,503, , 0.20, , 0.0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0.00, , 0.0, , 0.0 , - , style="width:10px;background-color:#000080;text-align:center;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Portugal Pro-Life , 8,461, , 0.15, , , , , , 0, , , , 0.00, , , , 0.0 , - , style="width: 10px" bgcolor=#CC0033 align="center" , , align=left, Labour , 4,974, , 0.09, , , , , , 0, , , , 0.00, , , , 0.0 , - , , 4,632, , 0.08, , 0.0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0.00, , 0.0, , 0.0 , - , , 3,265, , 0.06, , , , 2, , 0, , 2, , 0.00, , 0.9, , 0.0 , - , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;background-color:#E9E9E9", Total valid , width="65" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 5,505,278 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 96.91 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 0.2 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 230 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 230 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 0 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 100.00 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 0.0 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", — , - , colspan=2, Blank ballots , 99,086, , 1.74, , 0.1, , colspan=6 rowspan=4, , - , colspan=2, Invalid ballots , 76,894, , 1.35, , 0.2 , - , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;background-color:#E9E9E9", Total , width="65" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 5,681,258 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 100.00 , width="40" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", , - , colspan=2, Registered voters/turnout , , 9,519,921, , 59.68, , 4.6 , - , colspan=11 style="text-align:left;" , Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Distribution by constituency

, - class="unsortable" !rowspan=2, Constituency!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S !rowspan=2, Total
S , - class="unsortable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan=2 , PS !colspan=2 , PSD !colspan=2 , CDS–PP !colspan=2 , BE !colspan=2 , CDU , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

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 ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 39.7 , 3 , 35.7 , 2 , 10.3 , - , 7.3 , - , 2.2 , - , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Aveiro , 33.8 , 6 , style="background:; color:white;", 34.6 , 7 , 13.0 , 2 , 9.0 , 1 , 3.8 , - , 16 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Beja , style="background:; color:white;", 34.9 , 2 , 14.6 , - , 5.7 , - , 10.0 , - , 29.1 , 1 , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Braga , style="background:; color:white;", 41.7 , 9 , 30.8 , 6 , 9.7 , 2 , 7.8 , 1 , 4.6 , 1 , 19 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Bragança , 33.0 , 1 , style="background:; color:white;", 40.6 , 2 , 12.6 , - , 6.2 , - , 2.4 , - , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Castelo Branco , style="background:; color:white;", 41.0 , 2 , 29.8 , 2 , 8.4 , - , 9.1 , - , 5.1 , - , 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, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 38.0 , 4 , 30.6 , 4 , 8.8 , 1 , 10.8 , 1 , 5.7 , - , 10 , - , 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 ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 35.0 , 1 , 19.0 , 1 , 6.4 , - , 11.1 , - , 22.3 , 1 , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Faro , style="background:; color:white;", 31.9 , 3 , 26.2 , 3 , 10.7 , 1 , 15.3 , 1 , 7.8 , - , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Guarda , style="background:; color:white;", 36.0 , 2 , 35.6 , 2 , 11.2 , - , 7.6 , - , 3.3 , - , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

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 dist ...

, 30.1 , 4 , style="background:; color:white;", 34.9 , 4 , 12.6 , 1 , 9.5 , 1 , 5.1 , - , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="background:; color:white;", 36.4 , 19 , 25.1 , 13 , 11.0 , 5 , 10.8 , 5 , 9.9 , 5 , 47 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

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 ...

, 19.4 , 1 , style="background:; color:white;", 48.1 , 4 , 11.1 , 1 , 6.2 , - , 4.2 , - , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Portalegre , style="background:; color:white;", 38.3 , 1 , 23.8 , 1 , 8.0 , - , 10.8 , - , 12.9 , - , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="background:; color:white;", 41.8 , 18 , 29.2 , 12 , 9.3 , 4 , 9.2 , 3 , 5.7 , 2 , 39 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Santarém , style="background:; color:white;", 33.7 , 4 , 27.0 , 3 , 11.2 , 1 , 11.8 , 1 , 9.2 , 1 , 10 , - , 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 t ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 34.0 , 7 , 16.4 , 3 , 9.1 , 1 , 14.0 , 2 , 20.1 , 4 , 17 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Viana do Castelo , style="background:; color:white;", 36.3 , 3 , 31.3 , 2 , 13.6 , 1 , 8.6 , - , 4.2 , - , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Vila Real , 36.1 , 2 , style="background:; color:white;", 41.1 , 3 , 10.1 , - , 5.5 , - , 2.9 , - , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Viseu , 34.7 , 4 , style="background:; color:white;", 37.5 , 4 , 13.4 , 1 , 6.5 , - , 2.9 , - , 9 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Europe , style="background:; color:white;", 43.3 , 1 , 23.8 , 1 , 4.7 , - , 4.7 , - , 4.4 , - , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Outside Europe , 22.0 , - , style="background:; color:white;", 54.5 , 2 , 3.2 , - , 2.0 , - , 1.0 , - , 2 , - , - class="unsortable" style="background:#E9E9E9" , style="text-align:left;" , Total , style="background:; color:white;", 36.6 , 97 , 29.1 , 81 , 10.4 , 21 , 9.8 , 16 , 7.9 , 15 , 230 , - , colspan=12 style="text-align:left;" , Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Maps

File:Pt plelection 2009-2.PNG, First, second and third most voted political force by

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

. File:Portuguese Districts legislatives 2009.svg, Most voted political force by

autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy� ...

. File:Legislativas portuguesas de 2009 (Mapa).png, Most voted political force by

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Notes

References

External links

Preliminary results of the 2009 election

Portuguese Electoral Commission