Only 1977 avoided democratic elections.

The report is maintained by the National Electoral Commission itself, which on its official page clarifies that “if we consider mid-term elections to local authorities, then only in 1977 there were no elections.” On the other hand, since 1975, there have been only six years without a general election: 1977, 1978, 1981, 1990, 2010 and 2018.

Each election corresponds to an “election cycle”, which consists of three stages: pre-election, electoral and post-election. This Sunday, 18 political forces will fight to elect the 230 deputies who make up the Assembly of the Republic.

Lisbon, with more than 1.9 million voters, is the largest constituency, electing 48 deputies, while Guarda is the smallest constituency, with only 141,450 voters, electing three deputies. In order to present themselves to voters, political parties and movements had a budget of about 7.7 million euros distributed among their representative offices. PS and AD, for example, receive about 2.5 million euros. However, the prices for campaign materials were indicated in the diploma published in the Diário da República by the Office of Political Accounts and Finance. From the eight-page list published on January 12, parties and coalitions learned that strategic communications development for a campaign should not exceed around €16,500, while website design and maintenance should be capped at €12,000. The recommended maximum cost per hour for the use of a helicopter should not exceed 22,500 euros.

According to Lusa, holding these elections will cost the state treasury 24 million euros.

How do I know where to vote?
To find out where you vote, you can use the online voter portal at https://www.recenseamento.pt/. You can also send an SMS to number 3838 (free service) with the text: RE, followed by the citizen card number and date of birth (example: RE 12345678 19531007).

There are more extinct parties than active ones
There are more extinct political parties than active ones. According to the National Electoral Commission (CNE), there are 24 active political organizations and 35 that have disappeared.

Many of the disappeared parties and movements are named after their names, such as the Portuguese Marxist-Leninist Communist Organization or the Sick Movement, the first of which arose in September 1976 and the second in April 2002.

Prominent on the CNE list is Ergue-te, a small party originally registered “in the Constitutional Court on July 10, 1985 under the name Partido Renovador Democracia and the acronym PRD,” according to the CNE description. Let us remember that this party arose in 1985, inspired by the figure of General Ramalho Ines, the then President of the Republic, who has since transformed into Erget.

Among the active parties are some of the first registered after 25 April, such as the Communist Party of Portugal (PCP), registered in December 1974, and the CDS People’s Party in January 1975.

Despite the large number of registered parties, only a small number of them “have achieved consistent representation in parliament, and many of them either did not nominate candidates or did so only once or twice,” the CNE itself emphasizes. The latest registrants include Volt, registered in June 2020, and Nova Direita, registered on January 9, 2024.

YOU KNOW THAT…
Day
Sundays or public holidays are the only days when elections can be held in Portugal.

WHO
This Sunday’s elections were marked by a decree of the President of the Republic published on January 15.

Removal
Any candidate for deputy may refuse to participate no later than 48 hours before election day, after the application.