Electoral history of the Portuguese Communist Party

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This is a table of the electoral results of the Portuguese Communist Party . Despite the Party had been founded in 1921, the party experienced little time as a legal party, being forced into clandestinity after a military coup in 1926. In the following decades, Portugal was dominated by the dictatorial regime led by António Oliveira Salazar, that kept the Party illegal. Although the regime allowed elections during some periods, the Party, given its illegal status, could never legally enter the electoral process and the heavy manipulation of the electoral results never allowed a democratic candidate to win. The regime would only end in 1974, with the Carnation Revolution, that implemented broad democratic changes in the country.

Contents

Since then, four types of elections are held with different periodicity. The head of state, the President of the Republic, is elected for a five-year term, the Parliament is elected for a four-year term, like the municipal administrations, that since 1985, are also elected for a four-year term. Azores and Madeira elect a regional parliament each four years. Along with these, European elections are also held with a periodicity of five years since the country joined the European Union in 1986.

Since the revolution, the Party participated in every election, from the late 1970s until 1987, it ran in coalition with the Portuguese Democratic Movement in the United People Alliance (APU). In 1987, the APU was disbanded and since then, the Party participated in coalition with the Ecologist Party "The Greens" (PEV) inside the Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU). The peak of the Party's electoral influence was from the Carnation Revolution until the early 1980s, since then, and mainly after the fall of the Socialist bloc in eastern Europe, the Party's electoral success was reduced, however, it still keeps a presence in the Parliament and still holds the presidency of 18 municipalities and several parishes.

Results

Results in parliamentary elections

CDU sticker: "Mark your calendar and tell your friends: on 13 June, vote CDU for the European Parliament" Autocolante cdu pt 03.jpg
CDU sticker: "Mark your calendar and tell your friends: on 13 June, vote CDU for the European Parliament"
CDU results in the parliamentary election of 2005. (Azores and Madeira are not shown) CDU electoral results 2005.png
CDU results in the parliamentary election of 2005. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)
CDU results in the local election of 2005. (Azores and Madeira are not shown) CDU electoral results local 2005.png
CDU results in the local election of 2005. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)
Results in Parliamentary Elections
(year links to election page)
YearCoalitionVotes%Mandates
1976 none785,59414.6%40
1979 APU1,121,37419.0%47 (44)
1980 APU1,000,97517.0%41 (39)
1983 APU1,024,47518.2%44 (41)
1985 APU893,21615.6%38 (35)
1987 CDU685,10912.2%31 (29)
1991 CDU501,8408.8%17 (15)
1995 CDU504,0078.6%15 (13)
1999 CDU483,7169.0%17 (15)
2002 CDU378,6407.0%12 (10)
2005 CDU432,0097.6%14 (12)
2009 CDU446,1747.9%15 (13)
2011 CDU440,8507.9%16 (14)
2015 CDU444,9078.3%17 (15)
2019 CDU332,0186.3%12 (10)
2022 CDU238,9204.3%6
2024 CDU205,5513.2%4
2025 CDU183,6862.9%3

Note:

Results in local elections

Results in Local Elections
(year links to election page)
YearCoalitionVotes%MandatesMayors
1976 FEPU720,49917.7%26837
1979 APU885,89919.9%31650
1982 APU1,038,03320.9%31655
1985 APU935,89719.6%30347
1989 CDU656,71913.3%25850
1993 CDU689,92312.8%24649
1997 CDU643,95612.0%23641
2001 CDU557,48110.6%19928
2005 CDU589,38410.9%20332
2009 CDU537,3299.7%17428
2013 CDU552,69011.1%21334
2017 CDU489,1899.5%17124
2021 CDU410,6668.2%14819
2025 CDU316,2735.7%9312

Note:

Results in European Parliament elections

These are the results for Unitary Democratic Coalition, composed of the PCP, the PEV and the ID.
Election year# of overall
votes
% of overall
vote
# of overall
seats won
+/-Notes
1987 646,64011.50 (#4)
3 / 24
1989 594,96114.41 (#3)
4 / 24
Increase2.svg 1PEV member Maria Amélia Santos was elected in the CDU list.
1994 339,28311.19 (#4)
3 / 25
Decrease2.svg 1PEV member Maria Amélia Santos lost her seat.
1999 357,57510.32 (#3)
2 / 25
Decrease2.svg 1
2004 309,4069.09 (#3)
2 / 24
Steady2.svg 0
2009 379,78710.64 (#4)
2 / 22
Steady2.svg 0
2014 416,44612.68 (#3)
3 / 21
Increase2.svg 1
2019 228,1576.88 (#4)
2 / 21
Decrease2.svg 1
2024 162,6304.12 (#6)
1 / 21
Decrease2.svg 1

(source: Portuguese Electoral Commission)

Note:

Coalitions Info:

Results in presidential elections

Results in Presidential Elections
(year links to election page)
YearCandidate supportedVotes%Elected?
1976 Octávio Rodrigues Pato 365,3447.6%No
1980 Carlos Alfredo de Brito withdrew-No
1986 Francisco Salgado Zenha 1,185,86720.6%No
1991 Carlos Alberto Carvalhas 635,86712.9%No
1996 Jerónimo Carvalho de Sousa withdrew-No
2001 António Simões de Abreu 221,8865.1%No
2006 Jerónimo Carvalho de Sousa 466,4288.6%No
2011 Francisco Lopes 300,9217.1%No
2016 Edgar Silva 183,0513.9%No
2021 João Ferreira 179,7644.3%No

Notes:

See also

References

In Portuguese:

In English: