List of political parties in Portugal

Last updated

This article lists political parties in Portugal. The Portuguese political scene has been dominated by the Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party since the 1974 Carnation Revolution although there are several important minor parties (discussed below).

Contents

As of 2025, the parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic are those elected by the Democratic Alliance (91 MPs, in which PPD/PSD has 89 seats and CDS–PP has 2 seats), Chega (60 MPs), the Socialist Party (58 MPs), the Liberal Initiative (9 MPs), LIVRE (6 MPs), the Portuguese Communist Party (3 MPs), the Left Bloc (1 MP), the People-Animals-Nature party (1 MP), and the Together for the People party (1 MP). One other party is represented in the legislature of one of the autonomous regions, the Legislative Assembly of the Azores.


National political parties

Parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic and/or the European Parliament

Party Ideology Position European Party European Group Leader MPs MEPs Ref.
PPD/PSD Partido Social Democrata Logo.svg Social Democratic Party
Partido Social Democrata
Liberal conservatism
Pro-Europeanism
Centre-right EPP EPP Luís Montenegro
89 / 230
6 / 21
[1] [2] [3]
CH Logo Chega!.svg Enough
Chega
Right-wing populism
National conservatism
Euroscepticism
Right-wing
to far-right
Patriots.eu PfE André Ventura
60 / 230
2 / 21
[4] [5] [6]
[7]
PS PS Logo (Text version).png Socialist Party
Partido Socialista
Social democracy
Pro-Europeanism
Centre-left PES S&D José Luís Carneiro
58 / 230
8 / 21
[1] [8] [9]
IL Iniciativa Liberal Icon.png Liberal Initiative
Iniciativa Liberal
Classical liberalism
Libertarianism
Centre-right
to right-wing
ALDE RE Mariana Leitão
9 / 230
2 / 21
[10] [11]
[12]
L Partido LIVRE logo.png FREE
LIVRE
Green politics
Libertarian socialism
Centre-left
to left-wing
EGP Not in the European Parliament Rui Tavares
6 / 230
0 / 21
[13] [14]
PCP Portuguese Communist Party logo.svg Portuguese Communist Party
Partido Comunista Português
Communism
Marxism–Leninism
Euroscepticism
Left-wing
to far-left
None GUE-NGL Paulo Raimundo
3 / 230
1 / 21
[15] [16]
CDS–PP CDS - People's Party logo.svg CDS – People's Party
CDS – Partido Popular
Christian democracy
Conservatism
Right-wing EPP EPP Nuno Melo
2 / 230
1 / 21
[17] [18]
[19]
B.E. LeftBloc.svg Left Bloc
Bloco de Esquerda
Democratic socialism
Eco-socialism
Anti-capitalism
Left-wing populism
Left-wing ELA
NTP
GUE-NGL Mariana Mortágua
1 / 230
1 / 21
[20] [21]
[22]
PAN Logo Pessoas-Animais-Natureza (text only).png People Animals Nature
Pessoas-Animais-Natureza
Environmentalism
Animal rights
Centre-left [a] APEU
EGP
Not in the European Parliament, previously G/EFA Inês Sousa Real
1 / 230
0 / 21
[24] [25]
[26]
JPP Logo Juntos pelo Povo.png Together for the People
Juntos Pelo Povo
Regionalism
Social liberalism
Centre EDP Not in the European Parliament Élvio Sousa
1 / 230
0 / 21
[27]

Parties without representation in the Assembly of the Republic or the European Parliament

Party Ideology Position European Party European Group Leader Ref.
PEV
PCP-PEV.svg
Ecologist Party "The Greens"
Partido Ecologista "Os Verdes"
Left-wing EGP Not in European Parliament, previously G/EFA Collective leadership [8] [28]
ADN AlternativaDN OutroLogo.png National Democratic Alternative
Alternativa Democrática Nacional
Far-right ECPM (candidate)Not in European ParliamentBruno Fialho [29] [30]
RIR Reagir Incluir Reciclar logo.png React, Include, Recycle
Reagir, Incluir, Reciclar
Syncretic NoneNot in European ParliamentMárcia Henriques [31] [32] [33] [34]
VP Logo Volt Europa.svg Volt Portugal
Volt Portugal
Centre to
centre-left
Volt Not in European ParliamentInês Bravo Figueiredo
Duarte Costa
[35]
PCTP/MRPP PCTP-MRPP logo.png Portuguese Workers' Communist Party
Partido Comunista dos Trabalhadores Portugueses
Far-left NoneNot in European ParliamentMaria Cidália Guerreiro
ND Nova Direita circle logo.png New Right
Nova Direita
Right-wing NoneNot in European Parliament Ossanda Liber [36]
PLS Logo-partido-liberal-social.png Liberal Social Party
Partido Liberal Social
Centre
to Centre-right
NoneNot in European ParliamentJosé Cardoso [37]
PPM Simbolo do PPM.png People's Monarchist Party
Partido Popular Monárquico
Right-wing ECPM Not in European Parliament Gonçalo da Câmara Pereira [38] [39] [40] [41]
NC Logotipo nos cidadaos.png We, the Citizens!
Nós, Cidadãos!
Centre-right NoneNot in European ParliamentJoaquim Rocha Afonso [42] [43]
MPT Partido da Terra.png Earth Party
Partido da Terra
Centre-right NoneNot in European Parliament, previously EPP Pedro Soares Pimenta [44] [45]
PTP Partido Trabalhista Portugues.png Portuguese Labour Party
Partido Trabalhista Português
Left-wing NoneNot in European ParliamentRaquel Coelho [27] [46]
MAS
Cartaz MAS Coimbra 24 de novembro de 2015.JPG
Socialist Alternative Movement
Movimento Alternativa Socialista
Far-left NoneNot in European ParliamentGil Garcia [47]
A)T A tua.png (A)TUA
(A)TUA
Syncretic NoneNot in European ParliamentRui Lima [48] [49] [50]

General overview

Political posters in 1975. Portugal, politiek, straatbeelden etc leuzen van politieke partijen op straat , Bestanddeelnr 927-7487.jpg
Political posters in 1975.
Livre campaign poster for the 2015 legislative election. Cartel campana 2015 Portugal - Livre.jpg
Livre campaign poster for the 2015 legislative election.
Left Bloc campaign poster for the 2015 legislative election. Cartel campana 2015 Portugal - Bloque Izquierda.jpg
Left Bloc campaign poster for the 2015 legislative election.
Liberal Initiative campaign poster for the 2019 legislative election. Nao votes Iniciativa Liberal, Porto 2019.jpg
Liberal Initiative campaign poster for the 2019 legislative election.
PCTP/MRPP campaign poster in 2014. PCTP-MRPP-FigFoz.JPG
PCTP/MRPP campaign poster in 2014.

This list presents all the existing parties recognized by the Portuguese Constitutional Court. [51]

Extinct parties since 1974

This list presents the parties and coalitions of the current Third Republic that were once recognized by the Portuguese Constitutional Court but ceased to exist. It is organized by political spectrum and alphabetical order (in Portuguese).

Far-left

Logo of Communist Electoral Front (Marxist-Leninist), FEC(ML). Frente Eleitoral dos Comunistas (marxistas-leninistas) logo.png
Logo of Communist Electoral Front (Marxist-Leninist), FEC(ML).
Logo of Portuguese Marxist-Leninist Communist Organization, OCMLP. OCMLP Logo.png
Logo of Portuguese Marxist-Leninist Communist Organization, OCMLP.

Left-wing to far-left

Left-wing

Logo of Politics XXI, PXXI. Simbolo Politica XXI.png
Logo of Politics XXI, PXXI.

Centre-left

Logo of Democratic Renewal Party, PRD. Logotipo do PRD.png
Logo of Democratic Renewal Party, PRD.

Centre

Centre-right

Logo of Party of the Christian Democracy, PDC. Simbolo do Partido da Democracia Crista.png
Logo of Party of the Christian Democracy, PDC.

Right-wing

Far-right

Historical parties

This list includes the defunct political parties that never reached the Third Republic, in chronological order.

Constitutional Monarchy (1834–1910)

Logo of Portuguese Socialist Party, PSP. Simbolo do Partido Socialista Portugues.png
Logo of Portuguese Socialist Party, PSP.

First Republic (1910–1926)

Logo of Monarchist Cause, CM. Causa Monarquica.svg
Logo of Monarchist Cause, CM.

Ditadura Nacional (1926–1933)

Estado Novo (1933–1974)

Logo of National Union, UN. Uniao Nacional logo, 1938 version.svg
Logo of National Union, UN.

Although the Estado Novo was a dictatorship, with the National Union being legally the only party, the opposition was sometimes allowed to compete in (sham) elections; other parties were constituted underground or in exile.

See also

Notes

  1. Some sources state that People Animals Nature (PAN) is neither on the left nor the right. [23]

References

  1. 1 2 "Partidos registados e suas denominações, siglas e símbolos" Tribunal Constitucional. (in Portuguese)
  2. Freire, André (2007). "The Party System of Portugal". In Oskar Niedermayer; Richard Stöss; Melanie Haas (eds.). Die Parteiensysteme Westeuropas. Springer-Verlag. p. 373. ISBN   978-3-531-90061-2.
  3. Lisi, Marco (2007). "The Importance of Winning Office: The PS and the Struggle for Power". In Anna Bosco; Leonardo Morlino (eds.). Party Change in Southern Europe. Routledge. p. 50. ISBN   978-1-136-76777-7.
  4. "Chega oficializa ligação à extrema direita europeia". www.sabado.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2020-07-02.
  5. "Livre makes history in Portugal: not just first black woman MP, but first man in a skirt". The Portugal Resident. 28 October 2019.
  6. "Portugal's Socialists win election, now eye alliances". Star Tribune . 7 October 2019. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  7. "Pastoral dos Ciganos considera racistas e ilegais declarações de André Ventura". Observador . 8 September 2020.
  8. 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Portugal". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  9. Lisi, Marco; Freire, André (2014). "The selection of political party leaders in Portugal". In Jean-Benoit Pilet; William Cross (eds.). The Selection of Political Party Leaders in Contemporary Parliamentary Democracies: A Comparative Study. Routledge. p. 124. ISBN   978-1-317-92945-1.
  10. "Socialists victorious in Portuguese election – POLITICO". 6 October 2019.
  11. "View of A Construção da Identidade dos Novos Partidos em Páginas Oficiais do Facebook". Proa.ua.pt. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  12. "Restricted Access".
  13. European Spring Webpage (retrieved on 17 October 2018)
  14. Maria Lopes (23 May 2014). "Rui Tavares recebe apoio da cúpula dos Verdes europeus". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  15. "Portugal's Socialists lead election poll, but would not win majority". Reuters . 31 July 2019. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. When the Socialists came to power in 2015, they won the parliamentary support of two left wing parties, the Left Bloc and the Communists.
  16. "Portugal president asks Socialist Costa to form government". Reuters . 8 October 2019.
  17. David Art (2011), "Memory Politics in Western Europe", in Uwe Backes; Patrick Moreau (eds.), The Extreme Right in Europe, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 364, ISBN   978-3-525-36922-7
  18. "Portuguese socialists defend post-EU bailout austerity". EUobserver. 6 May 2019. The centre-right CDS-PP and PSD parties put forward the €800m/year idea.
  19. ""CDS is a right-wing party, period"". Noticias ao Minuto. 23 January 2020.
  20. Radical left parties in Europe. p.1801. Author - Luke March. Published by Routledge. Published December 2011.
  21. Dinis, Rita (29 August 2014). "O que está a dividir o Bloco de Esquerda | Ainda não percebi bem. Então quais são hoje as correntes dentro do BE?" [What is dividing the Left Bloc | Still don't get it. So what are the current tendencies inside the BE?]. Observador (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  22. "Risque pays du Portugal : Politique". Société Générale (in French). Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  23. Martins, Paula (25 January 2022). "The politics of Portugal – who are the parties?". Reuters. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  24. Anjos, Mafalda (2019-06-06). "Nem de esquerda nem de direita". Visão (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  25. "SIC Notícias | PAN quer integrar família dos Verdes na Europa". SIC Notícias (in European Portuguese). 2018-12-13. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  26. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Portugal". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  27. 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2015). "Madeira/Portugal". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018.
  28. "Partido Ecologista Os Verdes" (in Portuguese). medium.com. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  29. "The PDR, new EDP member". Archived from the original on 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  30. "Fenómeno ADN: o partido que cresceu seis vezes mais (e ainda não parou)". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 2024-03-10. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  31. In portuguese:"O R.I.R. é um partido político que nasceu com o propósito integrador de aproximar os cidadãos da política e vice-versa(...)Incluir os cidadãos nas decisões do bem comum, incluir o bem-estar e o equilíbrio nos objectivos económicos, incluir todas as raças e culturas nos espaços habitáveis e incluir toda a população nos privilégios do Século XXI" in http://partido-rir.pt/
  32. In portuguese: "O R.I.R adopta corno método de participação e actuação política “ouvir, aprender e propor” soluções participadas pelos vários saberes, por quem está directamente envolvido em diversas áreas fundamentais da sociedade desde a Academia, a Arte, o Engenho à vivência prática dos agentes económicos ( empreendedores, investidores e assalariados)." in https://partido-rir.pt/sobre-o-r-i-r/
  33. "Sobre o R.I.R. – RIR". Partido-rir.pt. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  34. In portuguese: "Questionado na altura se o partido se identifica com a direita ou com a esquerda, Vitorino Silva defendeu que o RIR “é um partido 360 graus, porque o próprio nome diz incluir. " in https://tvi24.iol.pt/politica/partidos/constitucional-aceita-partido-rir-de-tino-de-rans
  35. Forthomme, Claude (28 February 2019). "Volt Europa: An Electric Jolt to Wake Up Europe". Impakter. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  36. Lusa. "TC aceita inscrição de partido Nova Direita após três rejeições por irregularidades". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  37. SIC Not´cias (2025-03-19). "Tribunal Constitucional aceita criação de novo partido político em Portugal". Sapo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-03-19.
  38. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2016). "Azores/Portugal". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018.
  39. "Partido Popular Monárquico | EUROPEIAS 2014". Partido Popular Monárquico. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  40. "Partido Popular Monárquico | Programa Político". Partido Popular Monárquico. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  41. "Monarchist Conference - Members". International Monarchist Conference. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  42. "Investigador Joaquim Rocha Afonso eleito presidente do partido Nós, Cidadãos! – Observador".
  43. Nós, Cidadãos é o novo partido de centro-direita em formação, Publico.pt, retrieved 17 September 2015 (Portuguese)
  44. Close, Caroline (2019). "The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Close, Caroline; van Haute, Emilie (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Routledge. pp. 338–339. ISBN   9781351245487.
  45. Tom Lansford, ed. (2013). Political Handbook of the World 2013. SAGE Publications. p. 1172. ISBN   978-1-4522-5825-6.
  46. "Raquel Coelho é a nova presidente do PTP a nível nacional". www.jm-madeira.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  47. Administrador. "Declaração conjunta de MAIS (Brasil) e MAS (Portugal)". MAS (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  48. Lusa. "Partido Unido dos Reformados e Pensionistas quer concorrer às próximas eleições". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  49. "TC > Jurisprudência > Acordãos > Acórdão 370/2015 ". www.tribunalconstitucional.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  50. ""Traição". Por Amaral Dias, PURP mudou de nome - ela acabou no ADN". Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese). 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  51. Tribunal Constitucional – Partidos registados e suas denominações, siglas e símbolos
  52. "Sem contas, "sem sentido" e sem presidente registado: Constitucional declara extinção do partido Aliança fundado por Santana Lopes". Expresso (in Portuguese). 4 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.