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by | Dec 1, 2017

Local elections will be held in Portugal in late September or early October of 2025. The election consistes of three separate elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, whose winner is elected mayor, another election for the Municipal Assembly, as well an election for the lower-level Parish Assembly, whose winner is elected parish president. This last will be held separately in the more than 3,000 parishes around the country.

In this election, 38.3% of incumbent mayors, 118 to be precise, will be barred from running for another term: 54 from the PS, 44 from the PSD, 11 from CDU, 5 Independents, 3 from the CDS–PP and 1 from Together for the People.[2] The number of parishes up for election could also grow from the current 3,092 because of changes in the 2013 local reform law that will allow the separation of merged parishes.[3]

Background

Date

According to the local election law, an election must be called between 22 September and 14 October of the year that the local mandates end. The election is called by a Government of Portugal decree, unlike general elections which are called by the President of the Republic. The Election date must be announced at least 80 days before election day. Election day is the same in all municipalities, and should fall on a Sunday or national holiday. The 2025 local elections should, therefore, take place no later than 12 October 2025.[4]

Electoral system

Map of the 308 municipalities up for election.

All 308 municipalities are allocated a certain number of councilors to elect corresponding to the number of registered voters in a given municipality. Each party or coalition must present a list of candidates. The lists are closed and the seats in each municipality are apportioned according to the D'Hondt method. Unlike in national legislative elections, independent lists are allowed to run.

Council seats and Parish assembly seats are distributed as follows:

Seat allocation for the 2025 local election[5]
Councilors Parish Assembly
Seats Voters Seats Voters
17 only Lisbon 19+a more than 30,000 voters
13 only Porto 19 more than 20,000 voters
11 100,000 voters or more 13 more than 5,000 voters
9 more than 50,000 voters 9 more than 1,000 voters
7 more than 10,000 voters 7 1,000 voters or less
5 10,000 voters or less

a For parishes with more than 30,000 voters, the number of seats mentioned above is increased by one per every 10,000 voters in excess of that number, and then by one more if the result is even.

Parties

The main political forces that will be involved in the election are:

1 The PSD and the CDS–PP are expected to form coalitions in several municipalities between them and with some smaller center-right/right-wing parties like the Earth Party (MPT) and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM).

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2025 Portuguese local elections

Key Races

The following table lists the current party control in all district capitals, as well as in municipalities above 100,000 inhabitants. Population estimates from 2023.[6]

Municipality Population Current control New control
Almada 181,232 Socialist Party (PS)
Amadora 178,253 Socialist Party (PS)
Aveiro 86,037 PSD / CDS–PP / PPM
Barcelos 117,005 PSD / CDS–PP
Beja 33,838 Socialist Party (PS)
Braga 201,583 PSD / CDS–PP / PPM / Alliance
Bragança 35,425 Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Cascais 219,636 PSD / CDS–PP
Castelo Branco 52,913 Socialist Party (PS)
Coimbra 144,822 PSD / CDS–PP / NC / PPM / Alliance / RIR / Volt
Évora 53,937 Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Faro 69,468 PSD / CDS–PP / PPM / MPT
Funchal 107,562 PSD / CDS–PP
Gondomar 168,582 Socialist Party (PS)
Guarda 40,011 Independent (IND)
Guimarães 156,789 Socialist Party (PS)
Leiria 133,795 Socialist Party (PS)
Lisbon 567,131 PSD / CDS–PP / Alliance / MPT / PPM
Loures 207,065 Socialist Party (PS)
Maia 142,594 PSD / CDS–PP
Matosinhos 179,558 Socialist Party (PS)
Odivelas 153,708 Socialist Party (PS)
Oeiras 175,677 Independent (IND)
Ponta Delgada 68,758 Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Portalegre 21,914 PSD / CDS–PP
Porto 248,769 Independent (IND)
Santarém 61,009 Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Santa Maria da Feira 139,837 Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Seixal 173,163 Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Setúbal 123,548 Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Sintra 395,528 Socialist Party (PS)
Valongo 100,166 Socialist Party (PS)
Viana do Castelo 86,780 Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Franca de Xira 139,452 Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Nova de Famalicão 135,994 PSD / CDS–PP
Vila Nova de Gaia 311,223 Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Real 49,928 Socialist Party (PS)
Viseu 101,977 Social Democratic Party (PSD)

See also

References

  1. ^ DGAI - Reorganização Administrativa do Território das Freguesias - (RATF)
  2. ^ "Eleições autárquicas: há 118 presidentes de câmara 'em fim de ciclo'. PS e PCP são os partidos mais afetados". executivedigest.sapo.pt (in Portuguese). Executive Digest. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Pelo menos 185 freguesias pediram ao parlamento para se desagregarem". www.dn.pt/ (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Lei Eleitoral dos Orgãos das Autarquias Locais" (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições (in Portuguese): 57. 2020.
  5. ^ "AUTARQUIAS LOCAIS - COMPETÊNCIAS E REGIME JURÍDICO". Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa (in Portuguese). 2018.
  6. ^ "População residente (N.º) por Local de residência (NUTS - 2013), Sexo e Grupo etário (Por ciclos de vida); Anual". www.ine.pt (in Portuguese). Statistics Portugal. Retrieved 11 July 2023.

External links