In a clear ‘vote of protest’ by the nation against the Social Democrat-led government, results showed that the PSD party had lost a large number of town halls to the PS, including Madeira, Algarve and Centre Portugal regions.
The Social Democrats had few reasons to smile last Sunday night when the election results revealed that the PS had gained 36.7% of the total votes, while the PSD suffered defeat garnering 31.5% of the votes.
PM Passos Coelho had no option but to congratulate the PS for their “significant victory”.
Of the total 308 town halls, the PS won 150 câmaras, 18 more than in 2009, while the PSD totalled 106 town halls, losing 30 municipalities, and the CDU 34.
Lisbon Mayor António Costa (PS) was again re-elected president of the capital’s city hall, beating the PSD’s Fernando Seara, who had formed a coalition to run for Portugal’s top mayoral seat after reaching his term limit at Sintra town hall. The Socialists were victorious in Lisbon’s 24 parish councils. Of the 16 municipalities that make up the Lisbon district, 10 are now ruled by the PS party.
The Porto district saw big changes to its municipal ruling parties – eight out of 18 town halls changed political colour, with the PSD losing four councils. Porto Câmara was won by independent politician Rui Moreira – a surprise victory that left the PSD’s Luís Filipe Menezes struggling to accept defeat. Valongo, Gaia and Paços de Ferreira, formerly ruled by the Social Democrats, also saw their mayoral seats being occupied by PS politicians.
The PSD president of Madeira Regional Government, Alberto João Jardim, was left with a bitter taste in the mouth when he saw seven of the region’s 11 councils lose the PSD orange colour. The city hall of Funchal, under the PSD ruling since 1976, is now led by Socialist Paulo Cafôfo. His six-party coalition (PS/BE/PND/MPT/PTP/PAN) obtained 39.2% of the votes while the PSD garnered 32.4%.
The Socialists were not as successful in the Alentejo, where voters welcomed back the Communists in the district capitals of Évora and Beja, formerly PS. The CDU was victorious in 19 of the region’s 47 municipalities.
Meanwhile, a record level of abstention was registered in the 2013 municipal elections – at 47.4%, this is the highest abstention rate ever since records began in 1982. According to the Directorate-General of Internal Administration, 4,994,115 voters, of a total of 9,497,303 citizens registered to vote in Portugal, exercised their civic right on September 29. The abstention rate stood at 41% in 2009, 39.02% in 2005 and 39.9% in 2001.
Algarve Town Halls winners’ percentage of votes
Algarve Town Halls winners’ percentage of votes
In the Algarve…
Algarve voters wanted change and that is what they had, as the Socialists gained considerable ground in the region, winning 10 town halls, including Lagoa, Loulé and Alcoutim, formerly long-standing PSD câmaras.
The Socialists also retained their seats in Aljezur, Lagos, Olhão, Portimão, São Brás de Alportel, Tavira and Vila do Bispo.
Now totalling 10 mayors, the PS holds a majority within the Algarve Town Halls Association (AMAL) and will be able to elect a president for the entity.
The Social Democratic party was able to secure the presidency of Faro, Albufeira, Castro Marim, Monchique and Vila Real de Santo António but was unable to achieve victory in Silves, where the Communist CDU party unexpectedly won the election race.
Election highlights
▪ Rosa Palma from the CDU was the biggest surprise in Silves last Sunday night when she emerged as the winner. The CDU party has thus recovered a town hall it had lost in 1997 and which had been under the ruling of the PSD for 16 years.
▪ In Alcoutim, the Socialist Osvaldo Gonçalves surprised many when he beat José Pereira (PSD) for the position of mayor. Alcoutim town hall had been led by the PSD for 20 years under the former mayor Francisco Amaral, who this time was unable to run for the position due to the law that limits the number of terms in office.
▪ Meanwhile, a new presidential cycle could be starting for Francisco Amaral (ex-Alcoutim Mayor), who won the top seat at Castro Marim town hall when he was elected Mayor after a closely-fought battle with the PS’s Carlos Nóbrega.
▪ The PSD’s Rogério Bacalhau (who formed a coalition with the CDS-PP, MPT and PPM) was successful in pushing opponent Paulo Neves (PS) out of the race, ensuring continuation of the colour orange in the capital city.
▪ Another surprise took place in Lagoa when the PSD’s José Inácio suffered defeat, losing to the Socialist Francisco Martins, who had been fulfilling the position of president of that city’s parish council.
▪ In Loulé, the victory of the PS’s Vítor Aleixo took many by surprise. The politician, who is a grandson of the late illustrious poet António Aleixo, returned to the mayor’s seat, which he occupied 12 years ago until the PSD gained dominance in the municipality. Former Algarve tourism chief Hélder Martins, the PSD candidate, was not a strong enough opponent.
PS promises for the Algarve people
The Algarve’s PS party has vowed to keep employment creation at the forefront of its objectives for the region, following the successful results in the local elections.
The PS party stated it was grateful to Algarve voters who placed trust in their Socialist candidates and their projects.
The ‘Partido Socialista’ has taken the helm at 10 Algarve town halls and 40 parish councils (out of a total of 67).
The political group says this is a clear sign that the PS is reaching out to citizens by offering hope for the future.
The statement continued: “Developing social policies are a priority for us. We want to create support networks for citizens as well as invest more in culture and sport for our youths.”
