2001 Portuguese presidential election

2001 Portuguese presidential election

←  1996 14 January 2001 2006  →
Turnout	49.71% ( 16.58pp)
Candidate Jorge Sampaio Ferreira do Amaral António Abreu Party PS PSD Supported by: CDS–PP PCP Supported by: PEV Popular vote 2,401,015 1,498,948 223,196 Percentage 55.55% 34.68% 5.16%
Results by district Results by municipality Sampaio   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% Amaral   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%
President before election Jorge Sampaio PS Elected President Jorge Sampaio PS

Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 14 January 2001.

The victory of incumbent president Jorge Sampaio was never in doubt and the turnout was therefore quite low (49.71 percent). Again, the incumbent president was re-elected, like what happened with Mário Soares and Ramalho Eanes.

As the re-election of the left-wing president was almost certain, both the Portuguese Communist Party and the Left Bloc, the latter for its first time, presented their own candidates, as their support against the right-wing candidate was not necessary. The Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers also presented its own candidate for the first time in its history, Garcia Pereira.

On the right, Ferreira do Amaral was supported by the two major parties, the Social Democratic Party and the People's Party which, again, could not achieve their old objective of electing a right-wing president for the first time since the Carnation Revolution.

As of 2025, this was the last time a candidate from the center-left, or supported by the left-wing, was the most voted in a Presidential election in Portugal.

Electoral system

Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it is necessary to gather between 7,500 and 15,000 signatures and submit them to the Portuguese Constitutional Court.

According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a majority of votes. If no candidate gets this majority there will take place a second round between the two most voted candidates.

Candidates

Official logo of the election.

• Jorge Sampaio , President since 1996 and eligible for a second term, leader of the PS between 1989 and 1992, supported by the Socialist Party;
• Joaquim Martins Ferreira do Amaral , former minister of public works of Cavaco Silva government between 1990 and 1995, supported by the Social Democratic Party and by the People's Party;
• António Abreu , alderman in Lisbon between 1997 and 2001, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party;
• Fernando Rosas , Portuguese academic and politician, supported by the Left Bloc;
• Garcia Pereira , Secretary-General of the PCTP/MRPP;

Unsuccessful candidacies

There were also four candidates rejected by the Portuguese Constitutional Court for not complying with the legal requirement of being proposed by 7500 voters:

• Pedro Maria Braga;
• Maria Teresa Lameiro;
• Josué Rodrigues Pedro;
• Manuel João Vieira;

These four candidates were present in the draw of the ballot position, but did not appear in the final ballot.

Campaign period

Party slogans

Candidate		Original slogan	English translation	Refs
	Jorge Sampaio	« Por todos nós »	"For all of us"	[1]
	Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral	« Juntos conseguimos »	"Together we succeed"	[2]
	António Abreu	« Razões de esquerda para Portugal »	"Left reasons for Portugal"	[3]
	Fernando Rosas	« Esquerda com rosto »	"Left with a face"	[4]
	António Garcia Pereira	« Ousar sonhar, ousar lutar, ousar vencer! »	"Dare to dream, dare to fight, dare to win!"	[5]

Candidates' debates

2001 Portuguese presidential election debates
Date	Organisers	Moderator(s)	P Present   A Absent invitee N Non-invitee
			Sampaio	Amaral	Abreu	Rosas	Pereira	Refs
4 Jan	RTP1	Judite de Sousa	P	P	P	P	P	[6]

Opinion polls

  Exit poll

Polling firm	Date released	Sample size						Oth/ Und	Lead
			Sampaio PS (Inc.)	Amaral PSD, CDS	Abreu PCP, PEV	Rosas BE	Pereira PCTP
Election results	14 Jan 2001	—	55.6	34.7	5.2	3.0	1.6	—	20.9
UCP/RTP	14 Jan 2001	—	54–59	32–36	4–7	2–3.5	1–2.5	—	22.5
Eurosondagem/SIC	14 Jan 2001	—	55.9–58.7	31.1–34.9	4.2–6.4	1.7–3.3	1.1–2.3	—	24.4
Intercampus/TVI	14 Jan 2001	—	54.8–59.2	30.9–35.1	4.5–6.5	1.9–3.3	1.3–2.5	—	24.0
UCP/RTP	12 Jan 2001	—	63.5	29.1	2.4	2.7	2.2	—	34.4
Euroexpansão/Expresso	12 Jan 2001	—	64.8	31.9	1.2	1.7	0.4	—	32.9
Eurosondagem/SIC	12 Jan 2001	—	67.6	27.6	1.5	2.2	0.9	—	40.0
UCP/RTP	7 Jan 2001	—	67.9	27.2	2.2	1.9	0.8	—	40.7
Euroexpansão/Expresso	30 Dec 2000	—	60.1	29.6	1.1	1.6	0.4	7.2	30.5
UCP/RTP	18 Dec 2001	—	62.0	31.6	1.7	2.0	0.2	2.5	30.4
Euroexpansão/Expresso	Nov 2000	—	61.9	26.4	1.3	1.4	—	9.0	35.5
Euroexpansão/Expresso	1 Apr 2000	—	67	17	—	—	—	5 [a]	50

Results

National summary

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Jorge Sampaio	PS	2,401,015	55.55
	Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral	PPD/PSD, CDS–PP	1,498,948	34.68
	António Abreu	PCP, PEV	223,196	5.16
	Fernando Rosas	BE	129,840	3.00
	António Garcia Pereira	PCTP/MRPP	68,900	1.59
Total			4,321,899	100.00
Valid votes			4,321,899	97.13
Invalid votes			45,510	1.02
Blank votes			82,391	1.85
Total votes			4,449,800	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			8,950,905	49.71
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Results by district

District		Sampaio		Amaral		Abreu		Rosas		Garcia Pereira		Turnout
		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Aveiro	149,301	51.16%	125,306	42.93%	6,240	2.14%	6,942	2.38%	4,068	1.39%	51.96%
	Azores	43,848	63.81%	21,378	31.11%	841	1.22%	1,558	2.27%	1,092	1.59%	37.18%
	Beja	41,180	62.16%	9,988	15.08%	11,979	18.08%	2,287	3.45%	814	1.23%	47.12%
	Braga	196,641	54.79%	137,989	38.45%	8,922	2.49%	10,362	2.89%	4,998	1.39%	55.24%
	Bragança	29,514	46.33%	30,612	48.06%	1,247	1.96%	1,433	2.25%	893	1.40%	43.45%
	Castelo Branco	57,888	58.89%	33,353	33.93%	3,069	3.12%	2,698	2.74%	1,296	1.32%	52.45%
	Coimbra	107,310	58.20%	62,441	33.86%	6,517	3.53%	5,410	2.93%	2,714	1.47%	50.13%
	Évora	45,182	62.00%	14,914	20.47%	9,970	13.68%	2,080	2.85%	724	0.99%	50.28%
	Faro	86,483	59.40%	44,471	30.54%	6,415	4.41%	5,394	3.70%	2,834	1.95%	47.48%
	Guarda	40,597	51.31%	33,617	42.49%	1,917	2.42%	1,917	2.42%	1,067	1.35%	47.68%
	Leiria	90,854	47.51%	86,805	45.50%	5,860	3.06%	5,017	2.62%	2,679	1.40%	51.97%
	Lisbon	517,692	56.49%	285,472	31.15%	61,338	6.69%	32,831	3.58%	19,077	2.08%	51.69%
	Madeira	51,837	51.01%	43,092	42.41%	1,477	1.45%	3,237	3.19%	1,970	1.94%	49.26%
	Portalegre	34,956	62.79%	13,311	23.91%	5,271	9.47%	1,453	2.61%	679	1.22%	51.20%
	Porto	428,798	57.87%	256,975	34.68%	25,433	3.43%	19,648	2.65%	10,072	1.36%	53.13%
	Santarém	113,079	56.84%	65,258	32.80%	11,344	5.70%	6,320	3.18%	2,959	1.49%	52.59%
	Setúbal	190,543	60.05%	64,500	20.33%	44,453	14.01%	12,168	3.83%	5,647	1.78%	50.03%
	Viana do Castelo	58,235	52.63%	44,441	40.16%	3,291	2.97%	3,172	2.87%	1,521	1.37%	49.88%
	Vila Real	48,037	48.44%	45,519	45.90%	1,955	1.97%	2,343	2.36%	1,312	1.32%	46.24%
	Viseu	79,478	48.72%	74,416	45.61%	2,992	1.83%	4,097	2.51%	2,161	1.32%	48.03%
Source: 2001 Presidential election results

Maps

• 
  Strongest candidate by electoral district. (Azores and Madeira not shown)
• 
  Strongest candidate by municipality.

Notes

1. With Basílio Horta (CDS-PP): 5%

References

1. "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
2. "ELEIÇÕES PRESIDENCIAIS 2001 – CANDIDATURA DE FERREIRA DO AMARAL". EPHEMERA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
3. "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
4. "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
5. "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
6. "RTP transmite primeiro debate dos candidatos à presidência da República". Público (in Portuguese). 23 December 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2020.

• "CNE Resultados". Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Archived from the original on 8 April 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2005.
• "Centro de Estudos do Pensamento Político". Archived from the original on 18 August 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2005.

External links

• Portuguese Electoral Commission
• NSD: European Election Database - Portugal Archived 2014-12-20 at the Wayback Machine publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1990-2010