2005 Portuguese legislative election
|
|
|
Opinion polls
|
Registered
| 8,944,508
0.5%
|
---|
Turnout
| 5,747,834 (64.3%)
2.8
pp
|
---|
|
First party
|
Second party
|
Third party
|
|
|
|
|
Leader
|
Jose Socrates
|
Pedro Santana Lopes
|
Jeronimo de Sousa
|
Party
|
PS
|
PSD
|
PCP
|
Alliance
|
|
|
CDU
|
Leader since
|
26 September 2004
|
1 July 2004
|
27 November 2004
|
Leader's seat
|
Castelo Branco
|
Lisbon
|
Lisbon
|
Last election
|
96 seats, 37.8%
|
105 seats, 40.2%
|
12 seats, 6.9%
|
Seats won
|
121
|
75
|
14
|
Seat change
|
25
|
30
|
2
|
Popular vote
|
2,588,312
|
1,653,425
|
433,369
|
Percentage
|
45.0%
|
28.8%
|
7.5%
|
Swing
|
7.2
pp
|
11.4
pp
|
0.6
pp
|
|
|
Fourth party
|
Fifth party
|
|
|
|
Leader
|
Paulo Portas
|
Francisco Louca
|
Party
|
CDS?PP
|
BE
|
Leader since
|
22 March 1998
|
24 March 1999
|
Leader's seat
|
Aveiro
|
Lisbon
|
Last election
|
14 seats, 8.7%
|
3 seats, 2.7%
|
Seats won
|
12
|
8
|
Seat change
|
2
|
5
|
Popular vote
|
416,415
|
364,971
|
Percentage
|
7.2%
|
6.4%
|
Swing
|
1.5
pp
|
3.6
pp
|
|
Vote winner strength by district
Results by constituency
|
|
The
2005 Portuguese legislative election
took place on 20 February. The election renewed all 230 members of the
Assembly of the Republic
.
These elections were called after the decision of
President
Jorge Sampaio
on 30 November 2004 to dissolve the
Parliament
as an answer to the political instability caused by the government led by
Pedro Santana Lopes
(
PSD
) in coalition with the
PP
. Santana Lopes had become Prime Minister in July 2004, after
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso
left the country in order to become
President of the European Commission
in a decision that divided the country, because many Portuguese were expecting that the Socialist President
Jorge Sampaio
would dissolve the Parliament and call a legislative election. However, after five unstable months, President Sampaio decided to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections. The Prime Minister nevertheless announced the resignation of the government on 11 December, in an action with no practical effects whatsoever.
The campaign started officially on 6 February and the major topics were the problematic state of the country's finances,
unemployment
,
abortion
and even
Jose Socrates
's alleged homosexuality.
[1]
[2]
Headed by Socrates, the centre-left
Socialist Party
(PS) won the election with a landslide victory, winning in 19 of the 22 electoral constituencies, including in districts such as
Viseu
and
Braganca
that historically voted for the right. The Socialist Party conquered its first absolute majority, receiving 45% of the electorate vote and 52% of the seats in the Parliament, making this the Socialists' largest ever victory in terms of vote percentage and seat count as of 2022. The centre-right parties, mainly the Social Democrats, were punished for their performance in government, and lost more than 11% of votes they had garnered in the previous election. On the left, the Left Bloc achieved its best result ever and made the biggest climb, gaining 5 MPs, while the CDU (Communists and the Greens) gained 2 MPs and reversed their downward trend of the last elections.
Voter turnout
was the highest since
1995
, as 64.3% of the electorate cast a ballot.
Background
[
edit
]
Fall of the government
[
edit
]
Deep disagreements and disputes within the
Social Democratic Party
began to derail the government led by
Pedro Santana Lopes
.
[3]
One of those disputes, the resignation of Youth and Sports Minister,
Henrique Chaves
, which was a close ally of Santana, precipitated the fall of the government, as Chaves accused Santana of not being "loyal and truthful".
[4]
Following this,
President
Jorge Sampaio
had "enough" of crisis and accused the government of "contradictions and lack of coordination that contributed to its discredit".
[5]
Therefore, Sampaio used his power of dissolution of
Parliament
and called a snap election, the only time till date such power was used in Portuguese democracy.
[6]
[7]
A new election was called, by the President, for February 2005.
[8]
Leadership changes and challenges
[
edit
]
PSD 2004 leadership election
[
edit
]
Following the resignation of
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso
as Prime Minister and PSD leader to become President of the European Commission, the
Social Democratic Party
(PSD) initiated the process to elect a new leader.
[9]
Pedro Santana Lopes
, by then
Mayor of Lisbon
, was the sole candidate for the leadership
[10]
and his name was overwhelmingly confirmed in a National Party Council meeting on 1 July 2004.
[11]
The results were the following:
Two weeks later, on 17 July 2004, Santana Lopes was sworn in as
Prime Minister
.
[12]
PS 2004 leadership election
[
edit
]
On early July 2004, PS leader
Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues
resigned from the leadership against President
Jorge Sampaio
decision to nominate
Pedro Santana Lopes
as Prime Minister, following the resignation of
Durao Barroso
, rather than calling a snap legislative election.
[13]
New elections to select a new leader were called for 25 and 26 September 2004. Former environment minister
Jose Socrates
,
Manuel Alegre
and the son of former President
Mario Soares
,
Joao Soares
, contested the leadership ballot.
[14]
Jose Socrates was elected by a landslide
[15]
and the results were the following:
PCP 2004 leadership election
[
edit
]
In the fall of 2004, PCP leader
Carlos Carvalhas
decided to step down from the party's leadership after 12 years in the post.
[16]
Jeronimo de Sousa
was selected as candidate for the leadership and was elected in the party's congress during the weekend of 27 and 28 November 2004.
[17]
The results were the following:
Ballot: 27 November 2004
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
|
Jeronimo de Sousa
|
164
|
93.7
|
Against
|
1
|
0.6
|
Abstention
|
10
|
5.7
|
Turnout
|
175
|
|
Source:
Results
|
Electoral system
[
edit
]
Official logo of the election.
The
Assembly of the Republic
has 230 members elected to four-year terms. Governments do not require absolute majority support of the Assembly to hold office, as even if the number of opposers of government is larger than that of the supporters, the number of opposers still needs to be equal or greater than 116 (absolute majority) for both the Government's Programme to be rejected or for a
motion of no confidence
to be approved.
[18]
The number of seats assigned to each district depends on the
district magnitude
.
[19]
The use of the
d'Hondt method
makes for a higher effective threshold than certain other allocation methods such as the
Hare quota
or
Sainte-Lague method
, which are more generous to small parties.
[20]
For these elections, and compared with the 2002 elections, the MPs distributed by districts were the following:
[21]
Parties
[
edit
]
The table below lists the parties represented in the
Assembly of the Republic
during the 9th legislature (2002?2005) and that also partook in the election:
Campaign period
[
edit
]
Party slogans
[
edit
]
Party or alliance
|
Original slogan
|
English translation
|
Refs
|
|
PSD
|
≪ Por amor a Portugal. ≫
|
"For love of Portugal"
|
[22]
|
|
PS
|
≪ Voltar a acreditar em Portugal ≫
|
"Believing in Portugal again"
|
[23]
|
|
CDS?PP
|
≪ O voto util para Portugal ≫
|
"The useful vote for Portugal"
|
[24]
|
|
CDU
|
≪ Agora e consigo ≫
|
"Now it's up to you"
|
[25]
|
|
BE
|
≪ Faz toda a diferenca ≫
|
"It makes all the difference"
|
[26]
|
Candidates' debates
[
edit
]
Opinion polling
[
edit
]
Voter turnout
[
edit
]
The table below shows voter turnout throughout election day including voters from Overseas.
Turnout
|
Time
|
12:00
|
16:00
|
19:00
|
2002
|
2005
|
±
|
2002
|
2005
|
±
|
2002
|
2005
|
±
|
Total
|
18.00%
|
21.93%
|
3.93
pp
|
45.88%
|
50.94%
|
5.06
pp
|
61.48%
|
64.26%
|
2.78
pp
|
|
Sources
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]
|
National summary of votes and seats
[
edit
]
Summary of the 20 February 2005
Assembly of the Republic
elections results
|
Parties
|
Votes
|
%
|
±
|
MPs
|
MPs %/
votes %
|
2002
|
2005
|
±
|
%
|
±
|
|
Socialist
|
2,588,312
|
45.03
|
7.2
|
96
|
121
|
25
|
52.61
|
10.9
|
1.17
|
|
Social Democratic
[b]
|
1,653,425
|
28.77
|
11.4
|
105
|
75
|
30
|
32.61
|
13.0
|
1.13
|
|
Unitary Democratic Coalition
[c]
|
433,369
|
7.54
|
0.6
|
12
|
14
|
2
|
6.09
|
0.9
|
0.81
|
|
People's
|
416,415
|
7.25
|
1.5
|
14
|
12
|
2
|
5.22
|
0.9
|
0.72
|
|
Left Bloc
|
364,971
|
6.35
|
3.6
|
3
|
8
|
5
|
3.48
|
2.2
|
0.55
|
|
Portuguese Workers' Communist
|
48,186
|
0.84
|
0.2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
New Democracy
|
40,358
|
0.70
|
?
|
?
|
0
|
?
|
0.00
|
?
|
0.0
|
|
Humanist
|
17,056
|
0.30
|
0.1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
National Renovator
|
9,374
|
0.16
|
0.1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
Workers Party of Socialist Unity
|
5,535
|
0.10
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
Democratic Party of the Atlantic
|
1,618
|
0.03
|
?
|
?
|
0
|
?
|
0.00
|
?
|
0.0
|
Total valid
|
5,578,782
|
97.06
|
1.0
|
230
|
230
|
0
|
100.00
|
0.0
|
?
|
Blank ballots
|
103,537
|
1.80
|
0.8
|
|
Invalid ballots
|
65,515
|
1.14
|
0.2
|
Total
|
5,747,834
|
100.00
|
|
Registered voters/turnout
|
8,944,508
|
64.26
|
2.8
|
Source:
Comissao Nacional de Eleicoes
|
Vote share
|
|
|
|
PS
|
|
45.03%
|
PSD
|
|
28.77%
|
CDU
|
|
7.54%
|
CDS-PP
|
|
7.24%
|
BE
|
|
6.35%
|
PCTP/MRPP
|
|
0.84%
|
PND
|
|
0.70%
|
Others
|
|
0.59%
|
Blank/Invalid
|
|
2.94%
|
|
Parliamentary seats
|
|
|
|
PS
|
|
52.61%
|
PSD
|
|
32.61%
|
CDU
|
|
6.09%
|
CDS-PP
|
|
5.22%
|
BE
|
|
3.48%
|
|
Distribution by constituency
[
edit
]
Results of the 2005 election of the Portuguese
Assembly of the Republic
by constituency
Constituency
|
%
|
S
|
%
|
S
|
%
|
S
|
%
|
S
|
%
|
S
|
Total
S
|
PS
|
PSD
|
CDU
|
CDS-PP
|
BE
|
Azores
|
53.1
|
3
|
34.4
|
2
|
1.7
|
-
|
4.0
|
-
|
2.9
|
-
|
5
|
Aveiro
|
41.1
|
8
|
35.7
|
6
|
3.5
|
-
|
9.8
|
1
|
5.1
|
-
|
15
|
Beja
|
51.0
|
2
|
12.3
|
-
|
24.1
|
1
|
2.9
|
-
|
4.7
|
-
|
3
|
Braga
|
45.4
|
9
|
32.9
|
7
|
4.8
|
1
|
7.8
|
1
|
4.6
|
-
|
18
|
Braganca
|
42.1
|
2
|
39.0
|
2
|
2.0
|
-
|
9.7
|
-
|
2.5
|
-
|
4
|
Castelo Branco
|
56.0
|
4
|
26.7
|
1
|
3.8
|
-
|
5.3
|
-
|
3.7
|
-
|
5
|
Coimbra
|
45.4
|
6
|
31.9
|
4
|
5.5
|
-
|
5.5
|
-
|
6.3
|
-
|
10
|
Evora
|
49.7
|
2
|
16.7
|
-
|
20.9
|
1
|
3.7
|
-
|
4.6
|
-
|
3
|
Faro
|
49.3
|
6
|
24.6
|
2
|
6.9
|
-
|
5.8
|
-
|
7.7
|
-
|
8
|
Guarda
|
46.8
|
2
|
34.7
|
2
|
2.9
|
-
|
7.0
|
-
|
3.4
|
-
|
4
|
Leiria
|
35.6
|
4
|
39.8
|
5
|
4.6
|
-
|
8.9
|
1
|
5.5
|
-
|
10
|
Lisbon
|
44.1
|
23
|
23.7
|
12
|
9.8
|
5
|
8.2
|
4
|
8.8
|
4
|
48
|
Madeira
|
35.0
|
3
|
45.2
|
3
|
3.6
|
-
|
6.6
|
-
|
3.8
|
-
|
6
|
Portalegre
|
54.9
|
2
|
20.2
|
-
|
12.1
|
-
|
4.2
|
-
|
4.6
|
-
|
2
|
Porto
|
48.5
|
20
|
27.8
|
12
|
5.4
|
2
|
6.9
|
2
|
6.7
|
2
|
38
|
Santarem
|
46.1
|
6
|
26.4
|
3
|
8.6
|
1
|
6.9
|
-
|
6.5
|
-
|
10
|
Setubal
|
43.6
|
8
|
16.1
|
3
|
20.0
|
3
|
5.1
|
1
|
10.3
|
2
|
17
|
Viana do Castelo
|
42.0
|
3
|
33.5
|
2
|
3.8
|
-
|
11.4
|
1
|
4.5
|
-
|
6
|
Vila Real
|
43.8
|
3
|
40.2
|
2
|
2.6
|
-
|
6.8
|
-
|
2.4
|
-
|
5
|
Viseu
|
40.4
|
4
|
40.2
|
4
|
2.2
|
-
|
8.6
|
1
|
3.3
|
-
|
9
|
Europe
|
54.3
|
1
|
27.2
|
1
|
4.2
|
-
|
3.4
|
-
|
2.3
|
-
|
2
|
Outside Europe
|
26.3
|
-
|
57.7
|
2
|
1.0
|
-
|
3.5
|
-
|
0.7
|
-
|
2
|
Total
|
45.0
|
121
|
28.8
|
75
|
7.5
|
14
|
7.2
|
12
|
6.4
|
8
|
230
|
Source:
Comissao Nacional de Eleicoes
|
Maps
[
edit
]
Graphics
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Santos Costa, Filipe (2 February 2005).
"Santana nega ter feito insinuacoes"
[Santana denies having made insinuations].
Diario de Noticias
(in Portuguese)
. Retrieved
8 June
2016
.
- ^
Paixao, Paulo (23 September 2009).
"Temas que marcaram a campanha das legislativas de 2005"
[Themes that marked the 2005 election campaign].
Expresso
(in Portuguese)
. Retrieved
8 June
2016
.
- ^
"As "trapalhadas" de Santana em 2004 (que Rio apoiou e Marcelo arrasou) "
,
Observador
, 21 December 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^
"Henrique Chaves demite-se do Governo por falta de ≪lealdade e de verdade≫ de Santana"
,
Jornal de Negocios
, 28 November 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^
"Jorge Sampaio anuncia a dissolucao do Parlamento "
,
RTP
, 8 September 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^
"Jorge Sampaio vai dissolver Assembleia da Republica "
,
Publico
, 30 November 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^
"A bomba atomica de Sampaio"
,
Correio da Manha
, 10 September 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^
"Jorge Sampaio assinou hoje decreto de dissolucao do Parlamento "
,
Publico
, 22 December 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^
"Durao Barroso demite-se oficialmente"
,
Jornal de Noticias
, 5 July 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^
"Santana Lopes considera legitima eleicao pelo Conselho Nacional do PSD "
,
Publico
, 30 June 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^
"Santana Lopes indigitado pelo PSD para primeiro-ministro"
,
Publico
, 11 July 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^
"Um Governo de amigos, politicos e estreantes "
,
Publico
, 17 July 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^
"Ferro Rodrigues demite-se da lideranca do PS "
,
Publico
, 9 July 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"DEBATER AS IDEIAS ESCOLHER OS PROTAGONISTAS"
,
Accao Socialista
, 29 July 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Socrates eleito Secretario Geral do PS"
,
RTP
, 26 September 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Carlos Carvalhas abandona lideranca do PCP"
,
Publico
, 5 October 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"PCP: Jeronimo de Sousa eleito secretario-geral"
,
Publico
, 28 November 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Constitution of the Portuguese Republic"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2016-03-03
. Retrieved
2019-12-29
.
- ^
"Effective threshold in electoral systems"
. Trinity College, Dublin
. Retrieved
2015-10-21
.
- ^
Gallaher, Michael (1992). "
Comparing Proportional Representation Electoral Systems: Quotas, Thresholds, Paradoxes and Majorities
"
- ^
"Mapa Oficial n.º 5-A/2004"
(PDF)
. CNE - Comissao Nacional de Eleicoes - DR I Serie-A, nº 301, 27 de Dezembro de 2004
. Retrieved
2 December
2020
.
- ^
"ELEICOES LEGISLATIVAS DE 2005 ? PSD"
.
EPHEMERA
(in Portuguese)
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
"PS recusa proposta de debate entre Jose Socrates e Santana Lopes"
.
TVI
(in Portuguese)
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
"ELEICOES LEGISLATIVAS DE 2005 ? CDS"
.
EPHEMERA
(in Portuguese)
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
"Documents"
.
PCP
(in Portuguese)
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
"ELEICOES LEGISLATIVAS DE 2005 ? BE"
.
EPHEMERA
(in Portuguese)
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Televisoes apostam nos debates politicos"
.
Correio da Manha
(in Portuguese). 18 January 2005
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
"Portas e Louca travaram debate aceso a proposito do aborto e da banca"
.
Publico
(in Portuguese). 21 January 2005
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
"Debate inovador ao estilo americano"
.
Diario de Noticias
(in Portuguese). 3 February 2005
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
"DEBATE: LEGISLATIVAS 2005"
.
RTP1
(in Portuguese). 2005
. Retrieved
11 May
2020
.
- ^
"21,93 por cento dos eleitores votaram ate ao meio-dia"
.
RTP
(in Portuguese). 20 February 2005
. Retrieved
8 June
2023
.
- ^
"Votaram 18 por cento dos eleitores ate ao meio-dia"
.
Publico
(in Portuguese). 17 March 2002
. Retrieved
8 June
2023
.
- ^
"00, mais de metade dos eleitores ja tinha votado"
.
RTP
(in Portuguese). 20 February 2005
. Retrieved
8 June
2023
.
- ^
"Afluencia as urnas ultrapassa 45 por cento as 16h00"
.
Publico
(in Portuguese). 17 March 2002
. Retrieved
8 June
2023
.
External links
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See also
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