1993 Portuguese local elections

Local elections were held in Portugal on 12 December 1993. 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 4,200 parishes around the country.

The Socialist Party (PS) maintained, and also increased, their status as the largest local party. The party won 7 more cities compared with 1989 and, for the first time ever, polled above 40 percent of the votes in a nationwide election.^[4] The PS maintained control of big cities like Lisbon, here with a record 57 percent of the votes, Porto and Coimbra, and were also able to win two big cities in the Lisbon area from the PSD, Cascais and Sintra. Note for the very narrow defeat of the PS, under the candidacy of future Prime Minister and European Council President António Costa, in Loures.^[5]

The Social Democratic Party (PSD), although showing a slight recovery, saw the gap between it and the PS widen, but at the same time, managed to maintain its ground. The party polled badly in many big urban centers, just as it did four years prior, but was able to win some cities from the PS, like Pombal and Ponta Delgada. The elections happened as Cavaco Silva's government had already been in power for 8 years, and at the same time Portugal was exiting the early 1990s recession, which may have damaged, in some degree, the Social Democrats' prospects for this election.

The Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) was able to hold on to their 1989 scores losing just one city and seven councillors. The coalition between the Communists and the Greens was able to hold on to their bastions of Beja, Évora and Almada. The share of the vote for the CDU was also unchanged compared with 1989.

The People's Party (CDS–PP) was the big loser of the elections. The party lost seven cities, achieving their worst results till that date, managing to win only 13 cities out of 305. The party lost some of their bastions, like Mirandela or Paredes, to the PS or the PSD. The party also achieved their worst share of vote till that time in a local election, 8.4 percent.

Turnout in these elections increased compared with the 1989 election, as 63.4 percent of the electorate cast a ballot, the best turnout showing since 1982.