1997 Portuguese local elections

1997 Portuguese local elections
14 December 1997
All 305 Portuguese municipalities and 4,260 Portuguese Parishes; All 2,021 local government councils
Turnout	60.1% 3.3 pp

Local elections were held in Portugal on 14 December 1997. 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) remained the largest local political force, although only just, winning 128 cities, one more compared to 1993, and increasing their vote share to above 41 percent. In reality, PS and PSD basically tied in this elections, but the Socialists were able to hold on to big cities like Lisbon, Porto, Sintra and Coimbra.^[9] On the other hand, the PS lost some important cities to the PSD, particularly Vila Nova de Gaia and Figueira da Foz, the latter won by Pedro Santana Lopes, future Lisbon mayor and Prime Minister.

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) made some gains, winning 11 cities and basically catching up with the Socialists. They also increased their share of vote to 35 percent. The PSD gained many cities from the PS, such as Bragança, Covilhã, Silves, Tavira and Alcobaça. Although the PSD didn't performed very strongly in the big urban centers, they performed extremely well in many medium and small cities across the country, but this same poor performance in large urban centers, such as Lisbon and Porto, generated criticism towards the leadership of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.^[10]

The election was quite bad for Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU), as they continued their fall in local politics. The Communist/Green coalition lost 8 cities and decreased their vote share to 12 percent. The CDU lost many of their bastions to the PS, such as Cuba, Amadora, Vila Franca de Xira and Sesimbra. They also saw a decrease in number of councillors, although here the fall was soft, as they lost just 10 councillors compared to 1993.

The People's Party (PP) also continued its decline in local politics. The party only won 8 cities, a fall of 5 cities, and dropped its share of the vote to the lowest level till that time, 5.7 percent. They lost cities like Aveiro to the PS, and Vila Verde to the PSD. One surprise in the elections was the victory of the People's Monarchist Party (PPM) in Penalva do Castelo, Viseu district, over the People's Party.

Turnout in these elections dropped in comparison with the 1993 election, as 60.1 percent of the electorate cast a ballot.

Background

Electoral system

All 305 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.^[11]

By-elections (1993–1997)

During the normal four-year term of local governments, one municipal council by-election was held in the municipality of Albufeira on 21 January 1996, adding to this, fifteen parishes also held a by-election for parish assemblies.^[12]

City control in by-elections (1993–1997)^[13]^[14]
Date	Municipality	Population	Previous control		New control
21 January 1996	Albufeira	20,949		Socialist Party (PS)		Socialist Party (PS)

Parties

The main political forces involved in the election were:

CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP) (only in some municipalities)¹,
Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)²
Socialist Party (PS)²
Social Democratic Party (PSD) (only in some municipalities)¹
People's Monarchist Party (PPM)

¹ The PSD and the CDS–PP formed coalitions in some municipalities.
² The PS formed a coalition with CDU and UDP in Lisbon.

Results

Municipal Councils

National summary of votes and seats

Summary of the 14 December 1997 Municipal Councils elections results
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Councillors		Mayors
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Total	±	Total	±
	Socialist	2,041,307	38.07	2.0	303	869	74	127	1
	Social Democratic	1,761,383	32.85	0.9	293	803	4	127	11
	Democratic Unity Coalition	643,956	12.01	0.8	300	236	10	41	8
	People's	302,763	5.65	2.8	252	83	50	8	5
	PS / CDU / UDP	165,008	3.08	0.8	1	10	7	1	0
	Social Democratic / People's	124,859	2.33	—	1	7	—	0	—
	People's / Social Democratic	35,495	0.66	—	1	4	—	0	—
	Popular Democratic Union	21,079	0.39	0.2	46	0	0	0	0
	Portuguese Workers' Communist	18,674	0.35	0.1	22	0	0	0	0
	PSR / Politics XXI	9,175	0.17	—	2	0	—	0	—
	Revolutionary Socialist	9,126	0.17	—	16	0	—	0	—
	People's Monarchist	7,129	0.13	0.1	5	5	5	1	1
	Politics XXI	6,995	0.13	—	1	1	—	0	—
	Christian Democratic	4,361	0.08	0.1	3	1	1	0	0
	National Solidarity	2,301	0.04	0.5	12	0	3	0	0
	Earth	1,884	0.04	0.4	1	2	0	0	0
	Democratic Renewal	1,483	0.03	0.0	2	0	0	0	0
	Democratic Party of the Atlantic	567	0.01	0.0	1	0	0	0	0
	Left Revolutionary Front	120	0.00	—	1	0	—	0	—
Total valid		5,157,665	96.18	0.4	—	2,021	10	305	0
Blank ballots		117,360	2.19	0.3
Invalid ballots		87,584	1.63	0.0
Total		5,362,609	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		8,922,182	60.10	3.3
Source:^[15]^[13]

Municipality map

Most voted parties or coalitions in each Municipality. Municipalities won by:
■ - PSD: 127
■ - PS: 128
■ - CDU: 41
■ - CDS–PP: 8
■ - PPM: 1

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 1991 Census.^[14]

Municipality	Population
Almada	151,783	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Amadora	181,774	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)	Socialist Party (PS)
Aveiro	66,444	CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP)	Socialist Party (PS)
Barcelos	111,733	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Beja	35,827	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Braga	141,256	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Bragança	33,055	Socialist Party (PS)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Cascais	153,294	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Castelo Branco	54,310	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Socialist Party (PS)
Coimbra	139,052	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Évora	53,754	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Faro	50,761	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Funchal	115,403	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Gondomar	143,178	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Guarda	38,765	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Guimarães	157,589	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Leiria	102,762	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Lisbon (details)	663,394	PS / CDU / UDP	PS / CDU / UDP
Loures	322,158	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Matosinhos	151,682	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Oeiras	151,342	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Ponta Delgada	61,989	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Portalegre	26,111	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Socialist Party (PS)
Porto	302,472	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Santarém	62,621	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Santa Maria da Feira	135,964	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Santo Tirso	102,593	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Seixal	116,912	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Setúbal	103,634	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Sintra	260,951	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Viana do Castelo	83,095	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Franca de Xira	103,571	Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)	Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Nova de Famalicão	114,338	Socialist Party (PS)	Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Nova de Gaia	248,565	Socialist Party (PS)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Vila Real	46,300	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Viseu	83,601	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	Social Democratic Party (PSD)

Municipal Assemblies

National summary of votes and seats

Summary of the 14 December 1997 Municipal Assemblies elections results
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Mandates
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Total	±
	Socialist	2,030,025	37.85	2.2		2,887	246
	Social Democratic	1,633,778	30.46	3.4		2,579	102
	Democratic Unity Coalition	668,896	12.47	0.6		798	5
	People's	395,209	7.37	0.9		437	120
	PS / CDU / UDP	163,411	3.05	0.7		30	2
	Social Democratic / People's	124,472	2.32	—		22	—
	People's / Social Democratic	42,321	0.79	—		13	—
	Popular Democratic Union	25,552	0.48	0.3		2	0
	Portuguese Workers' Communist	12,309	0.23	0.0		1	0
	PSR / Politics XXI	11,150	0.21	—		1	—
	Revolutionary Socialist	8,850	0.16	0.0		1	1
	Politics XXI	6,483	0.12	—		8	—
	People's Monarchist	6,008	0.11	0.1		16	16
	Christian Democratic	4,254	0.08	—		5	—
	National Solidarity	3,940	0.07	0.4		0	16
	Earth	1,844	0.03	0.4		5	6
	Democratic Renewal	1,341	0.03	0.0		2	0
	Democratic Party of the Atlantic	576	0.01	—		0	—
Total valid		5,140,419	95.83	0.5	—	6,807	15
Blank ballots		135,738	2.53	0.5
Invalid ballots		87,800	1.64	0.0
Total		5,363,957	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		8,921,343	60.12	3.3
Source:^[15]

Parish Assemblies

National summary of votes and seats

Summary of the 14 December 1997 Parish Assemblies elections results
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Mandates		Presidents
Parties		Votes	%	±pp swing	Candidacies	Total	±	Total	±
	Socialist	1,952,468	36.56	2.0		13,626	1,315	1,692	159
	Social Democratic	1,615,100	30.24	3.4		12,960	719	1,597	64
	Democratic Unity Coalition	661,254	12.38	0.9		2,731	16	280	36
	People's	287,724	5.39	2.4		1,840	879	166	84
	Social Democratic / People's	206,839	3.87	—		561	—	32	—
	PS / CDU / UDP	169,893	3.18	0.7		408	119	40	18
	Independents	148,097	2.77	0.5		1,557	322	196	47
	People's / Social Democratic	43,267	0.81	—		77	—	2	—
	Popular Democratic Union	16,116	0.30	0.2		6	4	0	0
	People's Monarchist	5,501	0.10	0.1		80	78	10	10
	Portuguese Workers' Communist	4,575	0.09	0.0		2	1	0	0
	Politics XXI	3,958	0.07	—		37	—	3	—
	Earth	3,162	0.06	0.2		39	1	2	0
	Christian Democratic	2,598	0.05	—		8	—	0	—
	National Solidarity	2,025	0.04	0.4		6	49	0	3
	Democratic Renewal	1,549	0.03	0.0		9	1	0	1
	Democratic Party of the Atlantic	395	0.01	—		3	—	0	—
	Portuguese Party of Regions	394	0.01	—		3	—	1	—
	Revolutionary Socialist	34	0.00	—		0	—	0	—
Total valid		5,124,949	96.05	0.4	—	33,953	495	4,021	36
Blank ballots		119,778	2.24	0.4
Invalid ballots		96,014	1.80	0.1
Total		5,340,741	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		8,890,336	60.07	3.1
Source:^[15]

References

↑ Sum of votes between PS-only lists and lists with other parties.
↑ Sum of votes between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties.
↑ Number of municipalities won between PS-only lists and lists with other parties. PS-only lists: 127; PS-coalition lists: 1.
↑ Number of municipalities won between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties. PSD-only lists: 127; PSD-coalition lists: 0.
↑ Sum of councillors between PS-only lists and lists with other parties.
↑ Sum of councillors between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties.
↑ Sum of votes between CDS-only lists and lists with other parties.
↑ Sum of councillors between CDS-only lists and lists with other parties.
↑ "As cores políticas que pintam o mapa do poder local de 1976 a 2013". Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). 2017.
↑ "A primeira vez em que os 10 foram notícia". Expresso newspaper (in Portuguese). 2016.
↑ Eleição dos titulares dos órgãos das autarquias locais. Diário da República (in Portuguese.) Retrieved 17 July 2025.
↑ "Eleições / Referendos". Comissão Nacional de Eleições (in Portuguese). Retrieved 10 March 2026.
1 2 "Eleições Autárquicas 2005 – Atlas Eleitoral" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs (in Portuguese). 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
1 2 "Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Recenseamentos Gerais da População)". www.ine.pt (in Portuguese). Statistics Portugal. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
1 2 3 "Resultados Eleitorais SGMAI". Ministry of Home Affairs (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2026.
↑ "Presidentes das Câmaras Municipais Eleitos 1993" (PDF). www.cne.pt (in Portuguese). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
↑ "Presidentes das Câmaras Municipais Eleitos 1997" (PDF). www.cne.pt (in Portuguese). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Retrieved 11 May 2026.

External links

[1] Sum of votes between PS-only lists and lists with other parties.

[2] Sum of votes between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties.

[3] Number of municipalities won between PS-only lists and lists with other parties. PS-only lists: 127; PS-coalition lists: 1.

[4] Number of municipalities won between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties. PSD-only lists: 127; PSD-coalition lists: 0.

[5] Sum of councillors between PS-only lists and lists with other parties.

[6] Sum of councillors between PSD-only lists and lists with other parties.

[7] Sum of votes between CDS-only lists and lists with other parties.

[8] Sum of councillors between CDS-only lists and lists with other parties.

[JN-9] "As cores políticas que pintam o mapa do poder local de 1976 a 2013". Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). 2017.

[Expresso-10] "A primeira vez em que os 10 foram notícia". Expresso newspaper (in Portuguese). 2016.

[11] Eleição dos titulares dos órgãos das autarquias locais. Diário da República (in Portuguese.) Retrieved 17 July 2025.

[12] "Eleições / Referendos". Comissão Nacional de Eleições (in Portuguese). Retrieved 10 March 2026.

[Candidaturas-13] 1 2 "Eleições Autárquicas 2005 – Atlas Eleitoral" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs (in Portuguese). 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2026.

[Census-14] 1 2 "Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Recenseamentos Gerais da População)". www.ine.pt (in Portuguese). Statistics Portugal. Retrieved 17 July 2021.

[Resultados-15] 1 2 3 "Resultados Eleitorais SGMAI". Ministry of Home Affairs (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 May 2026.

[16] "Presidentes das Câmaras Municipais Eleitos 1993" (PDF). www.cne.pt (in Portuguese). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Retrieved 11 May 2026.

[17] "Presidentes das Câmaras Municipais Eleitos 1997" (PDF). www.cne.pt (in Portuguese). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Retrieved 11 May 2026.

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Elections and referendums in Portugal
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See also: Elections in the Azores Madeira Lisbon Porto Presidential elections

Background

Electoral system

By-elections (1993–1997)

Parties

Results

Municipal Councils

National summary of votes and seats

Municipality map

City control

Municipal Assemblies

National summary of votes and seats

Parish Assemblies

National summary of votes and seats

See also

References

External links