2022 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election

2022 Social Democratic Party leadership election

← 2021 28 May 2022 2024 →
Turnout	60.5% 17.7 pp
Candidate Luís Montenegro Jorge Moreira da Silva Popular vote 19,241 7,306 Percentage 72.5% 27.5%
Results by municipality.      Montenegro      Moreira da Silva      Tie
Leader before election Rui Rio Elected Leader Luís Montenegro

The 2022 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election was held on 28 May 2022.^[1] If no candidate achieved more than 50% of the votes in the first round, a second round would be held between the two most voted candidates in the first round on 4 June 2022, however, as only two candidates were on the ballot, Luís Montenegro and Jorge Moreira da Silva, a second round was not necessary.^[2] Nearly 45,000 party members, out of more than 85,000 active members, were registered to vote.^[3]

The elections came after the defeat of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in the 2022 Portuguese legislative election, where António Costa of the Socialist Party (PS) achieved an absolute majority. During election night, Rui Rio, the incumbent leader of the PSD, declared that he does not see how he could be useful in a PS majority.^[4] On 3 February 2022, Rio announced his intention of leaving the PSD leadership and proposed the calling of a snap leadership election.^[5]

Luís Montenegro, the centrist wing candidate, defeated Jorge Moreira da Silva, the centre-left wing candidate by a landslide, 72% to 28%, and was elected as the new PSD leader; however, turnout dropped to just above 60%.^[6] Montenegro won all the districts in the country and didn't prevail in just 38 municipalities, out of 308.^[7]