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Portugal snap election: Socialists won a surprising absolute majority

Updated: Jun 3, 2023

On October 27 of 2021, the fall of the State Budget for 2022 in Portugal dictated the dissolution of Parliament and the call for early elections. Following an intense campaign and given the uncertainty of the results indicated in the polls, on Sunday the 30th of January the D-day arrived: it was time for the Portuguese to choose the political path that they wanted for the country in the coming years.


What no one expected was an election night full of surprises, one of them being the absolute majority of the Socialist Party (PS). The Portuguese Prime Minister and leader of the socialist party António Costa won with 41.68% of the total votes and elected 117 deputies, securing therefore, a new mandate for the prime minister.


In his speech, Prime Minister Costa, stated that "an absolute majority does not mean absolute power. It doesn't mean governing alone” emphasising the fact that “it's an increased responsibility." According to him, this victory is what can be called a vote of confidence by the voters.


But why was it a surprise?


After governing the country for six consecutive years and the dissolution of Parliament in October 2021, many believed that it was time for a change. Even though the Portuguese had the future of the country in their hands, many showed their discontent towards the victory of the socialist party on social media. But what cannot be ignored is the fact that the Socialist Party won 379,972 more votes than in the elections of 2019. Notable is also that the BE and PCP lost a total of 334,861 votes.


Furthermore, it should be noted that the PS party was not the only party that achieved a victory. The Chega party has now become the third political force in the country, as it won a total of 7.15% of votes and won 12 parliamentary seats. Notable is certainly the fact that in 2019, the party leader André Ventura was elected the only and the first deputy of the party in the Assembly of the Republic.


Similarly, the Liberal Party, who also only had the party president in the Assembly of the Republic until now, is now the fourth political force in Portugal, having obtained 4.98% of the votes and elected 8 deputies.


Other parties


If you are a football fan just like me then you know that there are no winners without losers. This election also marked a major change in the number of seats that the other parties have in parliament.


The rival party of the PS, the PSD party, led by Rui Rio, obtained 29.27% of the votes and elected therefore solely 76 deputies, which is considered by the party’s leader as a major electoral defeat.


In 2019 the CDS party managed to elect 5 deputies with 4.22% of the votes. But it seemed like luck was not on their side this time. The CDS party only got 1.61% of the votes, being for the first time in the history of democracy in Portugal, not present in the Assembly of the Republic.


Interesting is also the fact that the BE party led by Catarina Martins, obtained only 4.46% of the votes and elected 5 deputies, this being 14 less than in 2019. It must be noted that this party was the third political force in Portugal up until now, however, this defeat made the party fall to the sixth political force.

Abstention rate


Despite finding itself amid the Coronavirus pandemic and having 1,2 million people in isolation, the abstention rate fell in the face of the 2019 legislative elections, which is seen by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as a great victory. However, it was the third-highest abstention rate since 1975.


New Government, but when?


The new Government is expected to take office in the week starting February 20, according to an official note published by the Prime Minister's own office.



Sources:




Filipa Moreira

02.02.2022





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