2005 Portuguese local elections
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Local elections were held in Portugal on 9 October 2005. The election consisted of three separate elections in the 308 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.
.jpg)
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 October 2005
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 308 Portuguese municipalities and 4,260 Portuguese Parishes All 2,046 local government councils | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 61.0%  0.9 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.png)
.jpg)
The Socialist Party may be considered the major defeated party of this election due to a slight loss of mandates, and also a decrease in its share of vote, compared with the 2001.
On the right, the Social Democratic Party gained some municipalities from the Socialists, some of them in coalition with the People's Party, but overall, elected 158 mayors, one less than 2001. People's Party (CDS–PP) was left reduced to only one municipality in stand-alone candidacies, Ponte de Lima, continuing its decline in comparison, for example, with the 36 mayors achieved in 1976.
On the left, the Unitary Democratic Coalition, led by the Communist Party, regained some of its former influence, taking 4 municipalities and several parishes from the Socialists in the districts of Beja, Évora, Setúbal and Leiria, achieving a total of 32 mayors, and winning, for the first time, the election in Peniche. The Left Bloc kept the presidency of its single municipality, Salvaterra de Magos.
The election was also remarkable for the election of independent candidates, most of them former Socialist, Social Democratic and People's Party candidates who were expelled or given no confidence, because of corruption accusations, by their respective parties and, even so, became mayors. The best known were Valentim Loureiro in Gondomar, Fátima Felgueiras in Felgueiras and Isaltino Morais in Oeiras.
Background
Electoral system
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 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. Unlike in national legislative elections, independent lists are allowed to run.[1]
By-elections (2001–2005)
During the normal four-year term of local governments, thirty-five parishes held a by-election for parish assemblies. No municipal council by-elections were held.[2]
Parties
The main political forces involved in the election were:
- Left Bloc (BE)
- CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP)
- Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
- Socialist Party (PS)
- Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Opinion polling
Voter turnout
Results
Municipal Councils
National summary of votes and seats
| Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Candidacies | Councillors | Mayors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ± | Total | ± | |||||||
| Socialist | 1,931,774 | 35.84 | 1.7 | 307 | 852 | 25 | 109 |  4 | ||
| Social Democratic | 1,523,760 | 28.27 | 0.0 | 245 | 743 | 33 | 138 | 4 | ||
| Democratic Unity Coalition | 590,598 | 10.96 | 0.4 | 301 | 203 | 4 | 32 | 4 | ||
| Social Democratic / People's | 497,077 | 9.22 | 0.2 | 42 | 136 | 22 | 18 | 3 | ||
| People's | 165,712 | 3.07 | 0.6 | 185 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Left Bloc | 159,254 | 2.95 | 1.8 | 111 | 7 | 1 | 1 |  0 | ||
| Independents | 133,146 | 2.47 | 0.9 | 27 | 45 | 14 | 7 | 4 | ||
| PSD / CDS–PP / PPM / MPT | 71,146 | 1.32 | — | 3 | 11 | — | 1 | — | ||
| PSD / CDS–PP / PPM | 56,652 | 1.05 | 1.1 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist | 15,476 | 0.29 | 0.0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Humanist | 5,103 | 0.09 | 0.0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| New Democracy | 2,048 | 0.04 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | — | ||
| National Renovator | 1,752 | 0.03 | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| People's Monarchist | 1,730 | 0.03 | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| PSD / CDS–PP / MPT | 1,664 | 0.03 | — | 1 | 2 | — | 0 | — | ||
| Earth | 1,589 | 0.03 | 0.2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | ||
| PSD / PPM | 707 | 0.01 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | ||
| PND / PPM | 439 | 0.01 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | ||
| National Solidarity | 233 | 0.00 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | ||
| People's / Social Democratic | 109 | 0.00 | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||
| CDS–PP / PSD / PPM | 11 | 0.00 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | ||
| Total valid | 5,159,980 | 95.71 | 0.6 |
— | 2,046 | 2 |
308 | 0 | ||
| Blank ballots | 138,449 | 2.57 | 0.4 | |||||||
| Invalid ballots | 92,142 | 1.71 | 0.2 | |||||||
| Total | 5,390,571 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,840,223 | 60.98 | 0.9 | |||||||
| Source:[5] | ||||||||||
Municipality map
.png)
■ - PSD: 138
■ - PS: 109
■ - CDU: 32
■ - BE: 1
■ - CDS–PP: 1
■ - PSD coalitions: 20
■ - Independents: 7
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 2001 Census.[6]
Municipal Assemblies
National summary of votes and seats
| Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Candidacies | Mandates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ± | |||||||||
| Socialist | 1,923,845 | 35.69 | 1.7 |
307 | 2,794 | 73 | ||||
| Social Democratic | 1,454,654 | 26.98 | 0.2 |
245 | 2,416 | 52 | ||||
| Democratic Unity Coalition | 628,987 | 11.67 | 0.6 |
301 | 722 | 13 | ||||
| Social Democratic / People's | 454,972 | 8.44 | 0.9 |
41 | 407 | 20 | ||||
| Left Bloc | 212,669 | 3.94 | 2.4 |
115 | 114 | 86 | ||||
| People's | 175,943 | 3.26 | 1.0 |
162 | 190 | 63 | ||||
| Independents | 115,999 | 2.15 | 1.0 |
25 | 121 | 28 | ||||
| PSD / CDS–PP / PPM | 90,676 | 1.68 | 0.5 |
13 | 73 | 33 | ||||
| PSD / CDS–PP / PPM / MPT | 66,190 | 1.23 | — | 3 | 27 | — | ||||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist | 8,620 | 0.16 | 0.0 |
9 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| People's / Social Democratic | 2,768 | 0.05 | 0.0 |
2 | 6 | 13 | ||||
| PSD / CDS–PP / MPT | 1,641 | 0.03 | — | 1 | 6 | — | ||||
| Earth | 1,590 | 0.03 | 0.2 |
1 | 0 | 18 | ||||
| New Democracy | 1,590 | 0.03 | — | 2 | 1 | — | ||||
| People's Monarchist | 1,011 | 0.02 | 0.0 |
6 | 5 | 5 | ||||
| PND / PPM | 831 | 0.02 | — | 1 | 0 | — | ||||
| PSD / PPM | 760 | 0.01 | 2.4 |
1 | 2 | 21 | ||||
| Humanist | 200 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| CDS–PP / PSD / PPM | 8 | 0.00 | — | 1 | 0 | — | ||||
| Total valid | 5,142,954 | 95.39 | 0.6 |
— | 6,885 | 9 | ||||
| Blank ballots | 154,283 | 2.86 | 0.4 | |||||||
| Invalid ballots | 93,925 | 1.74 | 0.2 | |||||||
| Total | 5,391,162 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,840,223 | 60.98 | 0.9 | |||||||
| Source:[5] | ||||||||||
Parish Assemblies
National summary of votes and seats
| Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Candidacies | Mandates | Presidents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ± | Total | ± | |||||||
| Socialist | 1,907,721 | 35.45 | 1.6 |
3,711 | 13,484 | 289 |
1,518 | 5 | ||
| Social Democratic | 1,434,321 | 26.65 | 0.1 |
3,065 | 12,451 | 303 |
1,723 | 74 | ||
| Democratic Unity Coalition | 644,535 | 11.98 | 0.8 |
2,239 | 2,555 | 89 |
244 | 12 | ||
| Social Democratic / People's | 411,517 | 7.65 | 0.6 |
529 | 2,064 | 60 |
219 | 4 | ||
| Independents | 245,740 | 4.57 | 0.2 |
568 | 2,200 | 207 |
292 | 19 | ||
| Left Bloc | 146,898 | 2.73 | 1.6 |
448 | 229 | 183 |
3 | 3 | ||
| People's | 144,328 | 2.68 | 0.9 |
1,043 | 822 | 148 |
65 | 14 | ||
| PSD / CDS–PP / PPM / MPT | 95,175 | 1.77 | — | 45 | 216 | — | 19 | — | ||
| PSD / CDS–PP / PPM | 84,398 | 1.57 | 0.7 |
125 | 400 | 98 |
34 | 2 | ||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist | 3,635 | 0.07 | 0.0 |
28 | 0 | 1 |
0 | 0 | ||
| Earth | 3,100 | 0.06 | 0.1 |
7 | 23 | 97 |
3 | 15 | ||
| New Democracy | 2,809 | 0.05 | — | 16 | 6 | — | 0 | — | ||
| PSD / CDS–PP / MPT | 1,756 | 0.03 | — | 12 | 32 | — | 3 | — | ||
| People's / Social Democratic | 1,448 | 0.03 | 0.1 |
2 | 10 | 57 |
2 | 6 | ||
| Humanist | 824 | 0.02 | 0.0 |
10 | 0 | 0 |
0 | 0 | ||
| PSD / PPM | 807 | 0.02 | 2.3 |
5 | 6 | 259 |
0 | 18 | ||
| National Solidarity | 72 | 0.00 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | — | ||
| National Renovator | 38 | 0.00 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | ||
| People's Monarchist | 27 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
1 | 0 | 1 |
0 | 0 | ||
| Total valid | 5,129,149 | 95.32 | 0.7 |
— | 34,498 | 129 |
4,125 | 4 | ||
| Blank ballots | 151,527 | 2.82 | 0.5 | |||||||
| Invalid ballots | 101,067 | 1.88 | 0.2 | |||||||
| Total | 5,381,759 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,840,223 | 60.88 | 0.9 | |||||||
| Source:[5] | ||||||||||
Maps
Notes
- Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) is composed of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), "The Greens" (PEV) and the Democratic Intervention (ID).
- The different coalitions between the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the People's Party (CDS–PP), the People's Monarchist Party (PPM) or the Earth Party (MPT) appear because each municipality has its own election.
- 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.