The Assembly of the Republic ( Portuguese: ''Assembleia da República'', ), commonly referred to as simply Parliament ( Portuguese: ''Parlamento''), is the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

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 ...

. According to the Constitution of Portugal, the parliament "is the representative assembly of all Portuguese citizens". The constitution names the assembly as one of the country's organs of supreme authority. It is located in a historical building in

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 ...

, referred to as '' Palácio de São Bento'' (Palace of Saint Benedict), the site of an old Benedictine monastery. The ''Palácio de São Bento'' has been the seat of the Portuguese parliaments since 1834 (

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of N ...

until 1910, Congress from 1911 to 1926 and National Assembly from 1933 to 1974).

Powers and duties of the Assembly

The Assembly of the Republic's powers derive from its ability to dismiss a

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 ...

through a vote of no confidence, to change the country's laws, and to amend the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

(which requires a majority of two-thirds). In addition to these key powers, the constitution grants to the Assembly extensive legislative powers and substantial control over the

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...

, the right to authorize the government to raise taxes and grant loans, the power to ratify treaties and other kinds of international agreements, and the duty to approve or reject decisions by the President of the Republic to declare war and make peace. The assembly also appoints many members of important state institutions, such as ten of the thirteen members of the Constitutional Court and seven of the sixteen members of the Council of State. The constitution requires the assembly to quickly review and approve an incoming government's program. Parliamentary rules allow the assembly to call for committees of inquiry to examine the government's actions. Political opposition represented in the assembly has the power to review the cabinet's actions, even though it is unlikely that the actions can be reversed. Party groups can also call for interpellations that require debates about specific government policies.

Structure

The assembly originally consisted of 250

MPs MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to: Science and technology * Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder * Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology * Myofascial pain syndrome * Metallopanstimulin * Potassium perox ...

, but the constitutional reforms of 1989 reduced its number to between 180 and 230. Members are elected by popular vote for legislative terms of four years from the country's twenty-two constituencies. There are eighteen in mainland Portugal corresponding to each

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, subdivisions o ...

, one each for the autonomous regions of

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 ...

(Portuguese: Açores) 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 ...

, and two for Portuguese people living abroad (one covering Europe and one covering the rest of the world). Except for the constituencies for Portuguese living abroad, which are fixed at two representatives each, the number of MPs is determined by the number of voters registered in a constituency, using 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- ...

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 ...

. Constituencies vary greatly in size; from as large as the

district of Lisbon Lisbon District ( pt, Distrito de Lisboa, ) is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the cu ...

, which returns 48 representatives, to as small as the

district of Portalegre Portalegre District ( pt, Distrito de Portalegre ) is located in the east of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Portalegre, Portugal, Portalegre. As of 2021, it is the least populous district of Portugal. Municipalities The district ...

, which elects just two. For the 2022 legislative elections, the MPs distributed by districts were as follows: According to the constitution, members of the assembly represent the entire country, not the constituency from which they are elected. This directive has been reinforced in practice by the strong role of political parties in regard to members of the assembly. Party leadership, for example, determines in which areas candidates are to run for office, thus often weakening members' ties to their constituencies. Moreover, members of the assembly are expected to vote with their party and to work within parliamentary groups based on party membership. Party discipline is strong, and insubordinate members can be coerced through a variety of means. A further obstacle to members' independence is that their bills first have to be submitted to the parliamentary groups, and it is these groups' leaders who set the assembly's agenda. The President of the Assembly of the Republic is the second hierarchical figure in the Portuguese state, after the

President of the Portuguese Republic The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

, and is elected by secret vote of the members of parliament. The President of the Assembly is aided by four vice presidents, nominated by the other parties represented in the parliament, and is usually the speaker. When they are not present, one of the vice presidents takes the role of speaker. When the President of the Republic is, for any reason, unable to perform the job, the President of the Assembly of the Republic becomes the substitute.

Current composition

2022 election

National summary

Distribution by constituency

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

, style="background:; color:white;", 42.8 , 3 , colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA", , 5.9 , - , 4.1 , - , 1.5 , - , 4.3 , - , colspan="2" rowspan="12" bgcolor="#AAAAAA", , 33.9 , 2 , 1.4 , - , 0.9 , - , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Aveiro , style="background:; color:white;", 39.5 , 8 , 35.7 , 7 , 5.6 , 1 , 4.5 , - , 1.8 , - , 4.6 , - , colspan="2" rowspan="21" bgcolor="#AAAAAA", , 1.3 , - , 0.8 , - , 16 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Beja , style="background:; color:white;", 43.7 , 2 , 15.9 , - , 10.3 , - , 2.1 , - , 18.4 , 1 , 3.7 , - , 0.9 , - , 0.7 , - , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Braga , style="background:; color:white;", 42.0 , 9 , 34.8 , 8 , 5.8 , 1 , 4.3 , 1 , 2.6 , - , 3.7 , - , 1.2 , - , 0.8 , - , 19 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Bragança , style="background:; color:white;", 40.3 , 2 , 40.3 , 1 , 8.6 , - , 1.6 , - , 1.4 , - , 2.1 , - , 0.6 , - , 0.4 , - , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Castelo Branco , style="background:; color:white;", 47.7 , 3 , 27.4 , 1 , 8.3 , - , 2.6 , - , 2.9 , - , 4.3 , - , 1.0 , - , 0.8 , - , 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;", 45.2 , 6 , 29.1 , 3 , 6.1 , - , 3.6 , - , 3.4 , - , 5.1 , - , 1.2 , - , 1.0 , - , 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;", 44.0 , 2 , 21.4 , 1 , 9.2 , - , 2.5 , - , 14.6 , - , 3.3 , - , 0.8 , - , 0.6 , - , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Faro , style="background:; color:white;", 39.9 , 5 , 24.4 , 3 , 12.3 , 1 , 4.6 , - , 4.8 , - , 5.8 , - , 2.2 , - , 1.1 , - , 9 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Guarda , style="background:; color:white;", 45.1 , 2 , 33.5 , 1 , 8.0 , - , 1.9 , - , 1.8 , - , 3.1 , - , 0.7 , - , 0.5 , - , 3 , - , 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 distr ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 35.7 , 5 , 34.7 , 4 , 8.0 , 1 , 5.3 , - , 3.1 , - , 4.5 , - , 1.3 , - , 1.1 , - , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="background:; color:white;", 40.8 , 21 , 24.2 , 13 , 7.8 , 4 , 7.9 , 4 , 5.1 , 2 , 4.7 , 2 , 2.0 , 1 , 2.4 , 1 , 48 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 31.5 , 3 , colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA", , 6.1 , - , 3.3 , - , 2.0 , - , 3.2 , - , style="background:; color:white;", 39.8 , 3 , 1.6 , - , 0.7 , - , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Portalegre , style="background:; color:white;", 47.2 , 2 , 23.2 , - , 11.5 , - , 2.1 , - , 7.6 , - , 2.9 , - , colspan="2" rowspan="9" bgcolor="#AAAAAA", , 0.6 , - , 0.6 , - , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

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 ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 42.5 , 19 , 32.3 , 14 , 4.4 , 2 , 5.1 , 2 , 3.3 , 1 , 4.8 , 2 , 1.7 , - , 1.2 , - , 40 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Santarém , style="background:; color:white;", 41.2 , 5 , 26.9 , 3 , 10.9 , 1 , 3.8 , - , 5.4 , - , 4.6 , - , 1.2 , - , 0.9 , - , 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;", 45.7 , 10 , 16.2 , 3 , 9.0 , 1 , 5.1 , 1 , 10.1 , 2 , 5.8 , 1 , 2.0 , - , 1.4 , - , 18 , - , 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, ...

, style="background:; color:white;", 42.1 , 3 , 34.2 , 3 , 6.1 , - , 2.9 , - , 3.0 , - , 3.5 , - , 1.0 , - , 0.7 , - , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Vila Real , style="background:; color:white;", 41.3 , 3 , 40.0 , 2 , 7.2 , - , 1.8 , - , 1.7 , - , 2.3 , - , 0.8 , - , 0.6 , - , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Viseu , style="background:; color:white;", 41.5 , 4 , 36.8 , 4 , 7.8 , - , 2.5 , - , 1.6 , - , 2.8 , - , 0.9 , - , 0.6 , - , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Europe , style="background:; color:white;", 33.0 , 2 , 15.0 , - , 7.1 , - , 2.5 , - , 1.3 , - , 2.4 , - , 2.7 , - , 1.4 , - , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Outside Europe , 29.8 , 1 , style="background:; color:white;", 37.5 , 1 , 9.6 , - , 3.6 , - , 1.4 , - , 2.6 , - , 4.5 , - , 1.0 , - , 2 , - class="unsortable" style="background:#E9E9E9" , style="text-align:left;" , Total , style="background:; color:white;", 41.4 , 120 , 27.7 , 72 , 7.2 , 12 , 4.9 , 8 , 4.3 , 6 , 4.4 , 5 , 0.9 , 3 , 0.5 , 2 , 1.6 , 1 , 1.3 , 1 , 230 , - , colspan=23 style="text-align:left;" , Source
Election Results

Elected Composition of the Assembly of the Republic since 1975

AR Eleicoes 1975.svg, 1975–1976 AR Eleicoes 1976.svg, 1976–1979 Portugal Parliament 1979.svg, 1979–1980 Portugal Parliament 1980.svg, 1980–1983 AR Eleicoes 1983.svg, 1983–1985 AR Eleicoes 1985.svg, 1985–1987 Portugal Parliament 1987.svg, 1987–1991 Portugal Parliament 1991.svg, 1991–1995 Portugal Parliament 1995.svg, 1995–1999 Portugal Parliament 1999.svg, 1999–2002 Portugal Parliament 2002.svg, 2002–2005 Portugal Parliament 2005.svg, 2005–2009 AR Eleicoes 2009.svg, 2009–2011 AR Eleicoes 2011.svg, 2011–2015 AR Eleicoes 2015.svg, 2015–2019 AR Eleicoes 2019.svg, 2019–2022 Portugal Parliament 2022.svg, 2022–2026

Powers and duties of the Assembly

Structure

Current composition

2022 election

National summary

Distribution by constituency

Elected Composition of the Assembly of the Republic since 1975

Presidents of the Assembly of the Republic

See also

Notes

References

External links