While Socialist-backed António José Seguro topped the first round of Sunday’s presidential election, the night also brought good news for second-placed André Ventura, leader of the far-right Chega party, which has been slowly but steadily turning the Algarve into its national stronghold.
According to figures from the Ministry of Internal Administration, Ventura won the Algarve with 33.02% of the vote (70,148 ballots), ahead of Seguro on 26.93% (57,217).
It was a clear victory for Ventura, who had already led his party to an impressive results in the 2024 and 2025 legislative elections, when Chega became the first party outside Portugal’s long-dominant Socialist Party (PS) and Social Democratic Party (PSD) to top the poll in the region. Chega also secured its first municipal council in the Algarve in last year’s local elections, winning the municipal vote in Albufeira.
On Sunday night, Ventura emerged as the most-voted candidate in nine of the Algarve’s 16 municipalities, including Albufeira, Lagoa, Lagos, Loulé, Olhão, Portimão, Silves and Vila Real de Santo António. Seguro, meanwhile, prevailed in seven municipalities, largely in the interior and mountainous areas, as well as Faro and Tavira.
The margins varied significantly. Ventura posted particularly strong results in Albufeira (38.75%), Lagoa (38.27%), Silves (37.25%), Vila Real de Santo António (37.92%) and Olhão (36.28%), opening up sizeable leads over his closest rival. By contrast, several municipalities were decided by razor-thin margins, underlining a deeply divided electorate. In Lagos, Ventura won by just 70 votes, while Seguro edged ahead by around one percentage point in São Brás de Alportel and by a similarly slim margin in Tavira.
Third place across the district went to João Cotrim de Figueiredo, backed by the liberal Iniciativa Liberal (IL), with 13.01%, followed closely by former naval admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo on 12.50%. Both performed better in urban and coastal areas but failed to top the poll in any municipality. Luís Marques Mendes, backed by the ruling PSD–CDS coalition, finished fifth in the Algarve with 8.33%, mirroring his disappointing national result.
With a runoff now confirmed between Seguro and Ventura on February 8, the Algarve is set to be one of the most closely watched regions. Both candidates will seek to mobilise voters who backed other contenders and consolidate support in a contest that pits two sharply contrasting political projects against each other.
