Elections in Portugal are free, fair, and regularly held, in accordance with election law.
Only the elections since the
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...
of 1974 are listed here. During the period encompassing the
Constitutional Monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
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
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 ful ...
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
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
districts
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, subdivisions o ...
. Also on a national level, Portugal elects 21 members of 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 ...
Parish Assemblies
''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "Parish (administrative division), parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level Administrative divisions of Portugal, administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the Constitution of Portugal, 19 ...
are elected for a four-year term in separate elections that usually occur on the same day.
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 ...
Ana Gomes
Ana Maria Rosa Martins Gomes (born 9 February 1954), better known as Ana Gomes, is a Portuguese former diplomat and politician of the Socialist Party (PS).
She earned wide recognition for her role in negotiating independence for East Timor, a ...
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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.LIVRE
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André Ventura
André Claro Amaral Ventura (; born 15 January 1983) is a right-wing Portuguese politician and former sports pundit. He briefly worked as a senior civil servant at the Portuguese tax office. He founded the Chega party in April 2019, and was ...
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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 ...
João Ferreira João Ferreira may refer to:
* Bigode (João Ferreira, 1922–2003), Brazilian footballer
* João Augusto Ferreira de Almeida (1873–1917), executed Portuguese soldier
* João Ferreira (politician)
João Manuel Peixoto Ferreira (born 20 Nove ...
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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 ...
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 ...
, align=left,
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 ...
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 ...
Vitorino Silva
Vitorino Francisco da Rocha e Silva (born on 19 April 1971), popularly known as Tino de Rans, is a Portuguese paver, television personality and politician.
Biography
Vitorino Silva was born in the small village of Rans in Penafiel; the sixth o ...
, align=left,
React, Include, Recycle
React–Include–Recycle ( pt, Reagir–Incluir–Reciclar, R.I.R.) is a Portuguese political party led by Vitorino Silva, better known as Tino de Rans. The RIR presents itself as a humanist, pacifist, environmentalist, pro-European
Pro-E ...
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...
, the President is elected to a five-year term; there is no limit to the number of terms a president may serve, but a president who serves two consecutive terms may not serve again in the next five years after the second term finishes or in the following five years after his resignation. The official residence of the Portuguese President is the Belém Palace.
The President is elected in a
two-round system
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
: if no candidate reaches 50% of the votes during the first round, the two candidates with the most votes face each other in a second round held two weeks later. , the 1986 presidential election was the only time a Portuguese presidential election was taken into a second round.
The most recent election was held in 2021 and the next is expected to be in
2026
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1930 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** ''Soup to Nuts'', the first on-scree ...
1982 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local elections of 1982 took place on 12 December. They were the third local elections in Portugal since the democratic revolution of 1974 introduced the concept of democratic local power.
The elections consisted of three separate ...
*
1985 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local elections of 1985 took place on 15 December. They were the fourth local elections in Portugal since the democratic revolution of 1974 introduced the concept of democratic local power. The elections took place just nine weeks ...
*
1989 Portuguese local elections
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 ...
*
1993 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local elections of 1993 took place on 12 December. The elections consisted of three separate elections in the 305 Municipalities of Portugal, Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Câmara Municipal, Municipal Chambers, who ...
*
1997 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local elections of 1997 took place on 14 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 ...
*
2001 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local elections of 2001 took place on 16 December. The elections consisted of three separate elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, whose winner is elected mayor, another election ...
*
2005 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local election of 2005 took place on 9 October 2005. The election consisted of three separate elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, whose winner is elected mayor, another election ...
*
2009 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local elections of 2009 took place on 11 October. The elections consisted of three separate elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, whose winner is elected president, another electi ...
*
2013 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local elections of 2013 took place on 29 September. The elections consisted of three types of elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities, namely the elections for the Municipal Chambers, whose winners are elected mayors, the e ...
*
2017 Portuguese local elections
The Portuguese local elections of 2017 were held on October 1, 2017. The elections consisted of three separate elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, whose winner was elected mayor, another electi ...
*
2021 Portuguese local elections
Local elections in Portugal were held on 26 September 2021. The election consisted of three separate elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities: the election for the Municipal Chamber (the executive branch of the municipality), whose winner is ...
The next local elections are scheduled to be held in September/October 2025.
Autonomous Regions elections
Portugal has two autonomous regions,
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
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, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and
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 ...
, 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 October 2020, and Madeira held an election on September 2019.
* Elections in Azores
* Elections in Madeira
European Parliament election, 2004
The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...
European Parliament election, 2019
The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...
Assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
or the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. 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). 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 nationwide referendums in the History of Portugal:
*
Constitutional referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, 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
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...
had turnout less than 50%, so they were not binding. Nonetheless, decisions of all three referendums were honoured.
Electoral system
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...