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2021 Portuguese presidential election

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A presidential election was held in Portugal on 24 January 2021.[1] The incumbent President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was reelected for a second term.

Registered10,847,434 (Increase11.24%)
Turnout39.26% (Decrease 9.40pp)
Quick facts Registered, Turnout ...
2021 Portuguese presidential election
← 2016
24 January 2021
2026 →
Opinion polls
Registered10,847,434 (Increase11.24%)
Turnout39.26% (Decrease 9.40pp)
 
Candidate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Ana Gomes André Ventura
Party PSD
Supported by:
 Independent[a]
Supported by:
 CH
Popular vote 2,531,692 540,823 497,746
Percentage 60.67% 12.96% 11.93%
Results by district
President before election

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
PSD

 Elected President

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
PSD

Close

The elections were held during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Portugal was under a lockdown as of election day.[2] President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was reelected by a landslide, winning 60.7 percent of the votes.[3] He won every district in the country and all 308 municipalities, a result which happened for the first time ever in Portuguese democracy; he won 3,083 parishes out of 3,092.[4] The election also marked the rise of right-wing candidate André Ventura, leader of Chega, who polled 3rd with almost 12 percent of the votes.[5] In second place, former MEP and Ambassador Ana Gomes was able to win 13 percent of the votes, the best result ever for a female candidate in a presidential election.[6] As in the 2016 elections, the Socialist Party (PS) did not officially endorse any candidate, despite Ana Gomes being a PS member.[7] The rest of candidates did not receive above 5 percent each.

Voter turnout fell to 39 percent, a drop of nine percentage points, mainly due to the automatic registration of overseas voters; this practice increased the number of registered voters to almost 11 million.[8] In Portugal alone, turnout stood at 45.45 percent, a decrease of 4.6 percentage points compared to 2016. This was the lowest drop in turnout in an election with an incumbent running since 1980.[9] Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was sworn in for a second term as President on 9 March 2021.[10]

Background

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was elected president with 52% of the votes in January 2016.[11] In Portugal, the president is the head of state and has mostly ceremonial powers.[12] However, the president does have some political influence, and can dissolve Parliament if a crisis occurs. The president's official residence is the Belém Palace in Lisbon.[13] Throughout his first term, Marcelo had to cohabitate with Socialist prime minister António Costa,[14] with the institutional relationship described as very good.[15] During his term as head of state, Marcelo also had high approval ratings, influenced by his "affections presidency" style and his empathetic response to national disasters, such as the 2017 wildfires.[16] The last year of Marcelo's first term was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the head of state declaring a state of emergency at the government's request.[17]

Pre-campaign

Early on, the Social Democrats (PSD) declared their support for Marcelo's re-election,[18] while the president only announced his re-election bid in December 2020, just over a month before election day.[19] On the Socialist Party (PS), prime minister António Costa also expressed, from early on, his "endorsement" to a second term for Marcelo,[20] but the prime minister's position created divisions on the left and within his own party.[21][22] After this, former PS MEP Ana Gomes, who strongly criticized Costa's stance,[22] announced she was considering a run, which she confirmed in September 2020.[23] Sole Chega party MP, André Ventura, also announced his candidacy just a few months after being elected to parliament in the 2019 legislative election,[24] while the Left Bloc repeated the candidacy of Marisa Matias,[25] the communists presented MEP João Ferreira[26] and the Liberal Initiative, also a new party that gained representation in the 2019 legislative election, declared Tiago Mayan Gonçalves as their presidential candidate.[27]

Electoral system

Under Portuguese law, a candidate must receive a majority of votes (50% plus one vote) to be elected. If no candidate achieved a majority in the first round, a runoff election (i.e., second round, held between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round) should be held.[28]

In order to stand for election, candidates must be of Portuguese origin and over 35 years old, gather 7,500 signatures of support one month before the election and submit them to the Constitutional Court of Portugal.[29] The Constitutional Court then certifies the candidacies which meet the requirements to appear on the ballot. The highest number of candidacies ever accepted was ten in 2016.[30]

Early voting

For the first time in a Presidential election, voters were also able to vote early, which would happen one week before election day on 17 January 2021. Voters had to register between 10 and 14 January in order to be eligible to cast an early ballot; a total of 246,880 voters requested to vote early in 2021.[31] On 17 January, 197,903 voters (80.16 percent of voters that registered) cast an early ballot.[13][32]

Candidates

Official logo of the election.

There were seven candidates certified to run in this election. In addition, the Constitutional Court rejected Eduardo Baptista's nomination due to insufficient signatures, although his name still appeared on the ballot, albeit votes cast for him would be counted as invalid. Six more individuals had announced their intention to run for President, but did not present any application to the Court, two of whom publicly stated that they would withdraw, which includes Democratic Republican Party (PDR) leader Bruno Fialho who, despite saying he had enough signatures, decided to drop out in order "not to spend thousands of euros on the country".[33] Finally, three more individuals were, for a while, thought of as potential or speculative candidates, but later ruled out any type of candidacy.

Official Candidates

More information Candidate, Supported by ...
Candidate Supported by Political office(s) Details Announcement
date		 Ref.
André Ventura (38)
  •   Chega
 President of Chega
(since 2019)
Member of Parliament for Lisbon
(since 2019)		 Founder of Chega and sole MP from the party. 29 February 2020 [34]
Tiago Mayan Gonçalves (43)
None Founding member of the Liberal Initiative (IL). 25 July 2020 [27][35]
Vitorino Silva (49)
President of React, Include, Recycle
(2019–2022)
President of the Parish Council of Rans
(1994–2002)		 Candidate in the 2016 presidential election, finishing sixth with 3.3% of the votes. 8 September 2020 [36][37]
Marisa Matias (44) Member of the European Parliament
(2009–2024)		 Candidate in the 2016 presidential election, finishing third with 10.1% of the votes. 9 September 2020 [25]
Ana Gomes (66) Member of the European Parliament
(2004–2019)
Ambassador to Indonesia
(2000–2003)		 Member of the Socialist Party (PS); failed to gain the support of the party. 10 September 2020 [38][39]
João Ferreira (42)
Member of the European Parliament
(2009–2021)		 Member of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP); supported by the Unitary Democratic Coalition. 17 September 2020 [26]
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (72)
President of the Republic
(since 2016)
Member of the Council of State
(2006–2016)
President of the Social Democratic Party
(1996–1999)
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
(1982–1983)
Member of the Constitituent Assembly
(1975–1976)		 Incumbent president after winning the 2016 presidential election, with 52.0% of the votes; eligible for a second term. 7 December 2020 [40][41]
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Ballot paper for the 2021 Portuguese presidential election. It includes Eduardo Baptista, a candidate rejected due to insufficient signatures.

Rejected candidates

  • Eduardo Baptista, NATO Staff Officer, Independent;[42][b]

Unsuccessful candidates

Withdrew

Refused

Campaign

Chega's Ventura's speech during election night of the 2021 presidential election

Issues

The campaign was severely limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, with candidates being forced to reduce campaign events to a minimum due to movement limitations imposed by the Government to prevent the spread of the virus. There were mandatory curfews in several municipalities and movement between all municipalities was prohibited during the weekends.[52]

At the beginning of the electoral campaign, the president of the French National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, confirmed that she would go to Lisbon to support André Ventura's presidential candidacy.[53]

Candidates' slogans

More information Candidate, Original slogan ...
Candidate Original slogan English translation Refs
Marisa Matias « Força Maior » "Greater Force" [54]
João Ferreira « Coragem e confiança. Um horizonte de esperança » "Courage and confidence. A horizon of hope" [55]
Vitorino Silva « O Povo a Presidente! » "The People for President!" [56]
Ana Gomes « Cuidar de Portugal » "Taking care of Portugal" [57]
André Ventura « Por Portugal, Pelos Portugueses! » "For Portugal, for the Portuguese!" [58]
Tiago Mayan Gonçalves « A alternativa liberal » "The liberal alternative" [59]
Bruno Fialho[c] « A escolha certa » "The right choice" [60]
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Candidates' debates

More information Date, Time ...
2021 Portuguese presidential election debates
Date Time Organisers Moderator(s)     I  Invitee    P  Present    NI  Not invited   A  Absent invitee
Rebelo de Sousa Gomes Ventura Matias Ferreira Mayan Silva Refs
2 Jan 2021 9 PM RTP1 Carlos Daniel P NI NI P NI NI NI [61]
10 PM TVI24 Carla Moita NI NI P NI P NI NI [61]
3 Jan 2021 9 PM RTP1 Carlos Daniel P NI NI NI NI P NI [61]
4 Jan 2021 9 PM TVI Pedro Mourinho P NI NI NI P NI NI [61]
10 PM SIC Notícias Clara de Sousa NI P NI P NI NI NI [61]
10:45 PM RTP3 Carlos Daniel NI NI P NI NI NI P [62]
5 Jan 2021 9 PM RTP1 Carlos Daniel NI P NI NI P NI NI [61]
10 PM SIC Notícias Clara de Sousa NI NI P NI NI P NI [61]
10:45 PM RTP3 Carlos Daniel NI NI NI P NI NI P [62]
6 Jan 2021 9 PM SIC Clara de Sousa P NI P NI NI NI NI [61]
10 PM TVI24 Carla Moita NI NI NI NI P P NI [61]
10:45 PM RTP3 Carlos Daniel NI P NI NI NI NI P [62]
7 Jan 2021 9 PM SIC Clara de Sousa NI NI P P NI NI NI [61]
10 PM TVI24 Carla Moita NI P NI NI NI P NI [61]
10:45 PM RTP3 Carlos Daniel P NI NI NI NI NI P [62]
8 Jan 2021 9 PM TVI Pedro Mourinho NI P P NI NI NI NI [61]
9:30 PM RTP1 Carlos Daniel NI NI NI P P NI NI [61]
10:45 PM RTP3 Carlos Daniel NI NI NI NI NI P P [62]
9 Jan 2021 9 PM RTP1 Carlos Daniel P P NI NI NI NI NI [61]
10 PM SIC Notícias Clara de Sousa NI NI NI P NI P NI [61]
10:45 PM RTP3 Carlos Daniel NI NI NI NI P NI P [62]
12 Jan 2021 9 PM RTP1 Carlos Daniel P[d] P P P P P P [63]
18 Jan 2021 9 AM Antena 1,
RR,
TSF		 Natália Carvalho
Eunice Lourenço
Judith Menezes e Sousa		 P P A P P P P [64]
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Opinion polling

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2021 Portuguese presidential election
This section is an excerpt from Opinion polling for the 2021 Portuguese presidential election § Graphical summary.[edit]
Graph of the polling for the 2021 Portuguese presidential election.
Graph of the polling for the 2021 Portuguese presidential election.

Campaign budgets

More information Candidate (party), Election Result ...
Candidate (party) Election
Result		 State Subsidy Political Parties
Contributions		 Fundraising Total Revenue Expenses Debt
Calculated Budgeted Calculated Budgeted
Marcelo R. Sousa (PSD, CDS–PP) 60.7% €23,827 €25,000 €0 €5,500 €25,927 €30,500 €24,927 €0
Ana Gomes (PAN, L) 13.0% €132,435 €20,000 €0 €33,500 €167,133 €53,500 €135,453 €0
André Ventura (CH) 11.9% €146,072 €0 €25,000 €135,000 €201,112 €160,000 €201,112 €0
João Ferreira (PCP, PEV) 4.3% €0 €385,000 €50,000 €15,000 €274,264 €450,000 €274,264 €0
Marisa Matias (BE, MAS) 4.0% €0 €256,617 €0 €6,000 €357,872 €256,617 €357,872 €0
Tiago M. Gonçalves (IL) 3.2% €0 €0 €25,000 €13,450 €47,263 €38,450 €47,284 €21
Vitorino Silva (RIR) 3.0% €0 €0 €0 €16,000 €7,160 €16,000 €7,155 €5
Source: Portuguese Constitutional Court (TC)[65]
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Voter turnout

The table below shows voter turnout throughout election day including voters from Overseas.

More information Turnout, Time ...
Turnout Time
12:00 16:00 19:00
2016 2021 ± 2016 2021 ± 2016 2021 ±
Total 15.82% 17.07% Increase 1.25 pp 37.69% 35.44% Decrease 2.25 pp 48.66% 39.26% Decrease 9.40 pp
Sources[66][67]
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Results

National summary

More information Candidate, Party ...
CandidatePartyVotes%
Marcelo Rebelo de SousaSocial Democratic Party[e]2,531,69260.67
Ana GomesIndependent[f]540,82312.96
André VenturaChega497,74611.93
João FerreiraPortuguese Communist Party[g]179,7644.31
Marisa MatiasLeft Bloc[h]165,1273.96
Tiago Mayan GonçalvesLiberal Initiative134,9913.23
Vitorino SilvaReact, Include, Recycle123,0312.95
Total4,173,174100.00
Valid votes4,173,17498.00
Invalid votes38,0180.89
Blank votes47,1641.11
Total votes4,258,356100.00
Registered voters/turnout10,847,43439.26
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições
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Results by district

More information 0000District0000, Marcelo ...
District Marcelo Gomes Ventura Ferreira Matias Mayan Vitorino Silva Turnout
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
  Aveiro 176,763 65.66% 31,812 11.82% 25,894 9.62% 6,309 2.34% 10,421 3.87% 8,338 3.10% 9,670 3.59% 42.78%
  Azores 56,178 69.67% 8,940 11.09% 7,560 9.38% 1,536 1.90% 3,176 3.94% 1,666 2.07% 1,575 1.95% 36.07%
  Beja 26,910 51.30% 5,613 10.70% 8,490 16.19% 7,877 15.02% 1,895 3.61% 708 1.35% 962 1.83% 43.94%
  Braga 234,617 63.93% 44,780 12.20% 39,281 10.70% 10,192 2.78% 12,572 3.43% 11,932 3.25% 13,622 3.71% 48.52%
  Bragança 27,258 60.47% 4,851 10.76% 7,939 17.61% 1,019 2.26% 1,511 3.35% 842 1.87% 1,656 3.67% 33.28%
  Castelo Branco 44,170 62.13% 8,212 11.55% 9,920 13.95% 2,499 3.52% 2,946 4.14% 1,477 2.08% 1,869 2.63% 43.33%
  Coimbra 97,778 62.44% 20,938 13.02% 15,682 10.01% 6,022 3.85% 8,588 5.48% 3,968 2.53% 4,171 2.66% 42.37%
  Évora 31,712 54.70% 5,974 10.30% 9,720 16.76% 6,262 10.80% 2,079 3.59% 1,176 2.03% 1,055 1.82% 43.60%
  Faro 89,393 57.33% 18,312 11.74% 26,023 16.69% 6,607 4.24% 7,612 4.88% 4,038 2.59% 3,943 2.53% 42.11%
  Guarda 34,582 64.04% 5,637 10.44% 7,737 14.33% 1,328 2.46% 1,874 3.47% 1,030 1.91% 1,810 3.35% 37.41%
  Leiria 115,484 63.94% 18,871 10.45% 22,576 12.50% 5,761 3.19% 7,222 4.00% 5,185 2.87% 5,526 3.06% 44.70%
  Lisbon 556,028 57.80% 136,608 14.51% 123,644 12.85% 48,721 5.06% 36,618 3.81% 39,190 4.07% 18,173 1.89% 50.97%
  Madeira 77,945 72.16% 8,510 7.88% 10,642 9.85% 1,855 1.72% 4,601 4.26% 2,484 2.30% 1,986 1.84% 42.71%
  Portalegre 21,984 55.71% 4,034 10.22% 7,908 20.04% 2,868 7.27% 1,234 3.13% 703 1.78% 731 1.85% 42.23%
  Porto 450,175 60.01% 116,906 15.58% 63,194 8.42% 24,456 3.26% 29,867 3.98% 32,194 4.29% 33,427 4.46% 48.10%
  Santarém 101,233 60.74% 16,359 9.81% 26,260 15.76% 8,274 4.96% 6,229 3.74% 3,759 2.26% 4,563 2.74% 44.90%
  Setúbal 190,912 56.17% 45,442 13.37% 43,720 12.86% 30,397 8.94% 14,792 4.35% 7,838 2.31% 6,771 1.99% 46.54%
  Viana do Castelo 56,937 63.66% 10,348 11.57% 10,177 11.38% 2,851 3.19% 3,296 3.69% 2,244 2.51% 3,583 4.01% 38.49%
  Vila Real 47,960 63.50% 8,629 11.42% 10,347 13.70% 1,912 2.53% 2,461 3.26% 1,572 2.08% 2,650 3.51% 35.81%
  Viseu 81,568 65.25% 12,992 10.39% 16,446 13.16% 2,750 2.20% 4,174 3.34% 2,524 2.02% 4,553 3.64% 37.26%
  Overseas 15,158 52.65% 5,328 18.51% 3,613 12.55% 1,022 3.55% 1,573 5.46% 1,616 5.61% 478 1.66% 1.88%
Source: 2021 Presidential election results
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Maps

  • Strongest candidate by municipality: Marcelo - orange.
    Strongest candidate by municipality: Marcelo - orange.
  • First, second and third most voted candidates by district: Marcelo - orange; Gomes - pink; Ventura - dark blue; Ferreira - red.
    First, second and third most voted candidates by district: Marcelo - orange; Gomes - pink; Ventura - dark blue; Ferreira - red.
  • First, second and third most voted candidates by municipality: Marcelo - orange; Gomes - pink; Ventura - dark blue; Ferreira - red; Vitorino Silva - Light Sea Green.
    First, second and third most voted candidates by municipality: Marcelo - orange; Gomes - pink; Ventura - dark blue; Ferreira - red; Vitorino Silva - Light Sea Green.

Accomplishments

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa delivering his victory speech after being reelected.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won the third highest vote margin ever in a presidential election in Portugal since democracy was restored, only behind Mário Soares' 70.35 percent in 1991 and António Ramalho Eanes' 61.59 percent in 1976.[68] He was also the first candidate ever to win the vote in all municipalities,[69] and win in 3083 out of 3092 parishes of the country.[70]

Ana Gomes became the most voted woman ever in a presidential election in Portugal, beating Marisa Matias' previous record of 10.12 percent in 2016, and the first to get second place.[71]

Notes

  1. [a]
    Even though she is a member of PS, the party did not officially back any candidate in particular
  2. [b]
    Candidate only delivered 11 signatures, of which only 6 were valid, far short of the required 7,500. However, his name appeared on ballots, as they started being printed before the Court officially verified all candidacies' documents. Votes for Eduardo Baptista were counted as invalid.
  3. [c]
    Withdrew
  4. [d]
    Via videotelephony
  5. [e]
    Also supported by CDS – People's Party.
  6. [f]
    Supported by the People Animals Nature and LIVRE.
  7. [g]
    Also supported by the Ecologist Party "The Greens".
  8. [h]
    Also supported by the Socialist Alternative Movement.

References

External links

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