1996 Portuguese regional elections

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The Portuguese Autonomous Regions of Azores and Madeira held their own Regional Legislative election of 1996 on October 13.

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In the Azores, there were 52 seats in the Regional Parliament in dispute, one more than in the previous election, in 1992. The seats were distributed by the 9 islands of the archipelago proportionally to the population of each island.

In Madeira, there were 59 seats in dispute, two more than in the previous election, distributed by the 11 municipalities of the archipelago proportionally to the population of each municipality.

The Socialist Party won the election in Azores for the first time, gathering 45% of the voting and electing Carlos César to the presidency of the Regional Government, after 20 years of dominance by the Social Democratic Party.

In Madeira, Alberto João Jardim, of the Social Democratic Party kept his dominance over the regional political panorama, winning the election with an absolute majority of 57%, the 6th consecutive absolute majority since the very first election in 1976.

The election in Azores

The winner of the election was the Socialist Party, that for the first time, achieved the majority of the voting, receiving, however, the same number of MPs as the Social Democratic Party. It was an historical victory for the socialists, after 20 years of dominance by the right-wing Social Democratic Party. Carlos Manuel Martins do Vale César became the new president of the Regional Government, succeeding to Alberto Romão Madruga da Costa.

The Democratic Alliance of Azores lost its single MP and the People's Party, that did not participated in the last election, managed to elect 3 MPs after receiving more than 7% of the voting.

On the left, the Unitarian Democratic Coalition, led by the Portuguese Communist Party re-elected its MP, after winning the election in the island of Flores. The People's Democratic Union did not manage to elect a single MP.

Summary of votes and seats

The most voted party in each island Pt regelection 1996.PNG
The most voted party in each island
Summary of the 13 October 1996 Legislative Assembly of Azores elections results
Parties Votes%±pp swing MPs MPs %/
votes %
1992 1996±%±
PS 51,90645.82Increase2.svg9.42124Increase2.svg346.15Increase2.svg5.01.01
PSD 46,44941.00Decrease2.svg12.62824Decrease2.svg446.15Decrease2.svg8.71.13
CDS–PP [A] 8,3467.3713Increase2.svg25.77Increase2.svg3.80.78
Democratic Unity Coalition 3,9403.48Increase2.svg1.211Steady2.svg01.92Decrease2.svg0.10.55
People's Democratic Union 9830.8700.000.0
Democratic Party of the Atlantic 3400.30Decrease2.svg1.100Steady2.svg00.00Steady2.svg0.00.0
Total valid111,96498.83Increase2.svg0.55152Increase2.svg1100.00Steady2.svg0.0
Blank ballots7050.62Increase2.svg0.1
Invalid ballots6240.55Decrease2.svg0.6
Total (turnout 59.17%)113,293100.00Decrease2.svg3.0
A The People's Party contested the 1992 election in an alliance formed by the People's Party (1 seat) and the People's Monarchist
Party
(0 seats).
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

The election in Madeira

The winner of the election in Madeira was, once more, the Social Democratic Party, and Alberto João Jardim was elected president of the Regional Government with an absolute majority for the 6th consecutive time. The percentage gathered by the social democrats was virtually the same of the previous election, however, due to the populational growth of the region, the number of MPs was increased from 57 to 59, and so, the social democrats gained 2 MPs, achieving a total of 41.

The People's Party lost some of its voters, but still managed to keep the 2 MPs, unlike the National Solidarity Party that lost its single MP.

On the left, the Socialist Party increased the voting by 1% and received one more MP. The Unitarian Democratic Coalition, led by the Portuguese Communist Party, increased the voting and the number of MPs, stealing one MP from the People's Democratic Union that elected only 1 MP.

Summary of votes and seats

The most voted party in each municipality Pt regelection2 1996.PNG
The most voted party in each municipality
Summary of the 13 October 1996 Legislative Assembly of Madeira elections results
Parties Votes%±pp swing MPs MPs %/
votes %
1992 1996±%±
PSD 77,36556.87Increase2.svg0.03941Increase2.svg269.49Increase2.svg1.11.22
PS 33,79024.84Increase2.svg2.31213Increase2.svg122.03Increase2.svg0.90.89
CDS–PP 9,9507.31Decrease2.svg0.822Steady2.svg03.39Decrease2.svg0.10.46
Democratic Unity Coalition 5,4954.04Increase2.svg1.012Increase2.svg13.39Increase2.svg1.60.84
People's Democratic Union 5,4854.03Decrease2.svg0.621Decrease2.svg11.69Decrease2.svg1.80.42
National Solidarity Party 8750.64Decrease2.svg1.810Decrease2.svg10.00Decrease2.svg1.80.0
Democratic Party of the Atlantic 5650.42Decrease2.svg0.200Steady2.svg00.00Steady2.svg0.00.0
Total valid133,52598.14Increase2.svg0.15759Increase2.svg2100.00Steady2.svg0.0
Blank ballots9910.73Increase2.svg0.0
Invalid ballots1,5341.13Decrease2.svg0.2
Total (turnout 65.26%)136,050100.00Decrease2.svg1.2
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

See also

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2000 Madeiran regional election

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2004 Azorean regional election

The Azores Regional Election, 2004 was an election held on 17 October 2004 for the legislative assembly and government of the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores, in which the Socialist Party, under the leadership of Carlos César won 57% of the votes, and got an absolute majority, for the 2nd consecutive turn. The Social Democratic Party ran in a coalition with the People's Party, called Azores Coalition, but was massively defeated gathering just 37% of the votes.

2007 Madeiran regional election

A regional election was held in Madeira on 6 May 2007, to determine the composition of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira. The election was a snap election, as it was original schedule to only happen in October 2008. The election was called after the President of the Regional Government, Alberto João Jardim, resigned after his government clashed with the Socialist Prime Minister José Sócrates due to the new regional finance law approved by the Sócrates government. Jardim defended that the new law was harmful for Madeira's interests. By this time, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) had been in power, nonstop, since 1976.

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