1979 Portuguese local elections
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Local elections were held in Portugal on 16 December 1979. They were the 2nd local elections in Portugal since the 1976 Constitution introduced the concept of democratic local power.[4] The elections took place just two weeks after the 1979 legislative election.
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16 December 1979
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All 305 Portuguese municipalities and 4,260 Portuguese Parishes All 1,937 local government councils | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 73.8%  9.2 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The elections consisted of three separate elections in the 305 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, another election for the Municipal Assembly and a last one for the lower-level Parish Assembly, whose winner is elected parish president, this last was held separately in the more than 4,000 parishes around the country.
Despite the Socialist Party finished on the top of the results table, the big winner was the Democratic Alliance, winning altogether 47 percent of the votes and electing 195 mayors, as the parties that composed it, the Democratic and Social Center, the Social Democratic Party and the People's Monarchist Party, presented individual lists in several municipalities.
The left-wing United People Alliance dominated the election in the municipalities of the South of the country, gathering more than 60 percent of the votes.
Turnout in these elections increased compared with the 1976 election, as 71.7 percent of the electorate cast a ballot, the highest turnout recorded in a nationwide local election.
Background
Electoral system
All 305 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 winner of the most voted list for the municipal council is automatically elected mayor, similar to first-past-the-post (FPTP). The lists are closed and the seats in each municipality are apportioned according to the D'Hondt method.[5]
By-elections (1976–1979)
During the normal three-year term of local governments, three municipal council by-elections were held: In the municipality of Mirandela on 10 September 1978; In the municipalities of Valença and Belmonte both on 29 April 1979, adding to this, thirty-three parishes also held a by-election for parish assemblies.[6]
| Date | Municipality | Population | Previous control | New control | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 September 1978 | Mirandela | 24,139 | Democratic and Social Center (CDS) | Social Democratic Party (PSD) | ||
| 29 April 1979 | Belmonte | 6,522 | Socialist Party (PS) | Socialist Party (PS) | ||
| 29 April 1979 | Valença | 12,850 | Socialist Party (PS) | Democratic Union (UD) | ||
Parties
The main political forces involved in the election were:
- Democratic Alliance (AD) (only in some municipalities)
- Democratic and Social Center (CDS) (only in some municipalities)
- Socialist Party (PS)
- Social Democratic Party (PSD) (only in some municipalities)
- United People Alliance (APU)
Results
Municipal Councils
National summary of votes and seats
| Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Candidacies | Councillors | Mayors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ± | Total | ± | |||||||
| Socialist | 1,380,134 | 27.67 |  5.3 |
297 | 523 | 168 |
60 | 55 | ||
| Democratic Alliance | 1,272,058 | 25.50 | — | 138 | 436 | — | 73 | — | ||
| United People Alliance[A] | 1,021,486 | 20.48 | 2.8 |
299 | 322 | 55 |
50 | 13 | ||
| Social Democratic | 733,384 | 14.70 | 9.6 |
156 | 480 | 143 |
101 | 14 | ||
| Democratic and Social Centre | 344,902 | 6.92 | 9.7 |
103 | 165 | 152 |
20 | 16 | ||
| Popular Democratic Union | 64,355 | 1.29 | — | 96 | 3 | — | 0 | — | ||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist | 24,456 | 0.49 | 0.2 |
69 | 0 |  0 |
0 | 0 | ||
| Christian Democratic | 6,616 | 0.13 | — | 9 | 2 | — | 0 | — | ||
| People's Monarchist | 6,162 | 0.12 | 0.1 |
3 | 6 | 3 |
1 | 0 | ||
| UEDS | 1,873 | 0.04 | — | 7 | 0 | — | 0 | — | ||
| Workers Party of Socialist Unity | 273 | 0.01 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | — | ||
| Total valid | 4,855,699 | 97.36 | 1.8 |
— | 1,937 | 31 |
305 | 1 | ||
| Blank ballots | 51,584 | 1.03 | 1.1 | |||||||
| Invalid ballots | 80,451 | 1.61 | 0.6 | |||||||
| Total | 4,987,734 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,761,751 | 73.76 | 9.2 | |||||||
| A In 1976, as Electoral Front United People. | ||||||||||
| Source:[9][7] | ||||||||||
Municipality map
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Municipalities won by:
■ - PS: 60
■ - AD: 73
■ - APU: 50
■ - PSD: 101
■ - CDS: 20
■ - PPM: 1
City control
The following table lists party control in all district capitals, highlighted in bold, as well as in municipalities above 100,000 inhabitants. Population estimates from the 1970 Census.[8]
Municipal Assemblies
National summary of votes and seats
| Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Candidacies | Mandates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ± | |||||||||
| Socialist | 1,358,977 | 27.24 | 6.1 |
2,748 | 1,047 | |||||
| Democratic Alliance | 1,284,634 | 25.75 | — | 2,186 | — | |||||
| United People Alliance[A] | 1,041,985 | 20.89 | 2.8 |
1,785 | 1,111 | |||||
| Social Democratic | 754,318 | 15.12 | 9.4 |
2,256 | 597 | |||||
| Democratic and Social Centre | 316,568 | 6.35 | 10.1 |
863 | 185 | |||||
| Popular Democratic Union | 68,254 | 1.37 | — | 59 | — | |||||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist | 13,490 | 0.27 | 0.2 |
0 | 0 | |||||
| People's Monarchist | 5,514 | 0.11 | 0.0 |
26 | 24 | |||||
| UEDS | 757 | 0.02 | — | 3 | — | |||||
| Christian Democratic | 421 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
0 | 0 | |||||
| Total valid | 4,844,918 | 97.13 | 1.9 |
— | 9,926 | 4,796 | ||||
| Blank ballots | 67,042 | 1.34 | 1.2 | |||||||
| Invalid ballots | 76,283 | 1.53 | 0.7 | |||||||
| Total | 4,988,243 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,761,751 | 73.77 | 9.2 | |||||||
| A In 1976, as Electoral Front United People. | ||||||||||
| Source:[9] | ||||||||||
Parish Assemblies
National summary of votes and seats
| Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Candidacies | Mandates | Presidents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ± | Total | ± | |||||||
| Socialist | 1,345,048 | 27.19 | 6.0 |
10,948 | 2,584 |
813 | 291 | |||
| Democratic Alliance | 1,237,506 | 25.01 | — | 10,371 | — | 1,044 | — | |||
| United People Alliance[A] | 1,033,733 | 20.90 | 5.2 |
5,072 | 2,744 |
299 | 102 | |||
| Social Democratic | 757,338 | 15.31 | 9.2 |
9,631 | 577 |
1,062 | 193 | |||
| Democratic and Social Centre | 318,990 | 6.45 | 8.8 |
4,260 | 826 |
390 | 143 | |||
| Popular Democratic Union | 49,595 | 1.00 | — | 56 | — | 1 | — | |||
| Independents | 48,397 | 0.98 | 3.0 |
697 | 519 |
75 | 55 | |||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist | 8,811 | 0.18 | 0.1 |
3 | 1 |
0 | 0 | |||
| People's Monarchist | 4,953 | 0.10 | 0.1 |
78 | 66 |
8 | 7 | |||
| Christian Democratic | 2,347 | 0.05 | — | 25 | — | 1 | — | |||
| Workers Party of Socialist Unity | 917 | 0.02 | — | 1 | — | 0 | — | |||
| UEDS | 605 | 0.01 | — | 2 | — | 0 | — | |||
| Movement of Socialist Left | 0 | 0.00 | — | 0 | — | 0 | — | |||
| Total valid | 4,808,240 | 97.19 | 1.8 |
— | 41,144 | 14,876 |
3,693 | 471 | ||
| Blank ballots | 60,144 | 1.22 | 1.0 | |||||||
| Invalid ballots | 78,674 | 1.59 | 0.8 | |||||||
| Total | 4,947,058 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,706,791 | 73.76 | 9.2 | |||||||
| A In 1976, as Electoral Front United People. | ||||||||||
| Source:[9] | ||||||||||
Maps
The first and the second most voted parties in Municipal Councils in each district. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)- The first and the second most voted parties in Municipal Assemblies in each district. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)
- The first and the second most voted parties in Parish Assemblies in each district. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)
Notes
- Democratic Alliance (AD) was composed by the Democratic Social Center (CDS), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM).
- Although the PSD, the CDS and the PPM were united in the Democratic Alliance, they appear in the scorecard because they ran separated in several municipalities.
- United People Alliance (APU) was composed by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and the Portuguese Democratic Movement (MDP/CDE).
- The number of candidacies expresses the number of municipalities or parishes in which the party or coalition presented lists.
- The number of mandates expresses the number of municipal deputies in the Municipal Assembly election and the number of parish deputies in the Parish Assembly election.
- The turnout varies because one may choose not to vote for all the organs.