1976 Portuguese local elections

The Portuguese local elections of 1976 took place on 12 December. They were the first local elections in Portugal. The democratic revolution of 1974 introduced the concept of democratic local power, that should be exerted by the citizens in their towns and cities.

1976 Portuguese local elections

12 December 1976
All 304 Portuguese municipalities and 4,260 Portuguese Parishes All 1,908 local government councils
Turnout	64.7%
Leader Mário Soares Francisco Sá Carneiro Party PS PSD Popular vote 1,377,684 1,014,092 Percentage 33.0% 24.3% Mayors 115 115 Councillors 691 624   Leader Álvaro Cunhal Diogo Freitas do Amaral Party PCP CDS Alliance FEPU Popular vote 720,499 693,766 Percentage 17.3% 16.6% Mayors 37 36 Councillors 268 317

The elections were meant to elect for the first time the administration of the about 300 municipalities of the country and of the about 4000 parishes that composed those 300 municipalities. They consisted of three elections in each of the municipalities; the election for the municipal chamber, the election for the municipal assembly and the lower-level election for the parish assembly.

The Socialist Party gathered the majority of the voting and mandates, beating the Social Democratic Party, although both parties tied in number of elected mayors, 115. The Communists led coalition, the Electoral Front United People, dominated the election in the South of the country. The right-wing Democratic Social Center achieved its best result ever in local elections.

Turnout in these elections was quite low, as 64.7% of the electorate cast a ballot, compared with the 83.5% turnout rate of the 1976 general elections in April.

Parties

The main political forces involved in the election:

• Democratic and Social Center (CDS)
• Electoral Front United People (FEPU)
• Groups for the Dinamization of the People's Unity (GDUPs)
• Socialist Party (PS)
• Social Democratic Party (PSD)

Results

National summary of votes and seats

Most voted parties or coalitions in each Municipality.
Municipalities won by:
■ - PS: 115
■ - PSD: 115
■ - FEPU: 37
■ - CDS: 36
■ - PPM: 1

 Summary of the 12 December 1976 Municipal Councils elections results

Parties		Votes	%	Candidacies	Councillors	Mayors
					#	#
	Socialist	1,377,684	33.01		691	115
	Social Democratic	1,014,092	24.30		624	115
	Electoral Front United People	720,499	17.26		268	37
	Democratic and Social Centre	693,766	16.62		317	36
	GDUPs	103,784	2.49		5	0
	Portuguese Workers' Communist	27,505	0.59		0	0
	PCP(m-l)	15,267	0.37		0	0
	People's Monarchist	7,528	0.18		3	1
	Internationalist Communist League	3,464	0.08		0	0
	Workers' Revolutionary	273	0.00		0	0
	United People Alliance	123	0.00		0	0
Total valid		3,995,905	96.40	—	1,908	304
Blank ballots		89,073	2.13
Invalid ballots		88,783	2.13
Total		4,173,761	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,454,990	64.66

National summary of votes and seats

 Summary of the 12 December 1976 Municipal Assemblies elections results

Parties		Votes	%	Candidacies	Mandates
					#
	Socialist	1,392,181	33.39		1,698
	Social Democratic	1,022,168	24.52		1,658
	Electoral Front United People	756,856	18.15		679
	Democratic and Social Centre	685,574	16.44		1,053
	GDUPs	100,872	2.42		43
	PCP(m-l)	5,363	0.13		2
	Portuguese Workers' Communist	5,214	0.13		0
	People's Monarchist	3,695	0.09		2
	Workers' Revolutionary	2,634	0.06		0
	Christian Democratic	970	0.02		0
Total valid		3,975,596	95.36	—	5,135
Blank ballots		104,185	2.50
Invalid ballots		89,241	2.26
Total		4,169,022	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,453,783	64.60

National summary of votes and seats

 Summary of the 12 December 1976 Parish Assemblies elections results

Parties		Votes	%	Candidacies	Mandates	Presidents
					#	#
	Socialist	1,339,460	32.69		8,345
	Social Democratic	996,972	24.33		9,076
	Electoral Front United People	629,812	15.37		2,291
	Democratic and Social Centre	617,690	15.07		5,077
	Independents	162,367	3.96		1,230
	GDUPs	93,967	2.29		99
	Portuguese Workers' Communist	13,721	0.33		2
	People's Monarchist	1,788	0.04		12
	PCP(m-l)	1,666	0.04		3
	Internationalist Communist League	71	0.00		0
Total valid		3,915,120	95.55	—	26,135	'
Blank ballots		88,985	2.17
Invalid ballots		93,461	2.28
Total		4,097,566	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,246,594	65.60

Maps

• 
  The first and the second most voted parties in Municipal Councils in each district. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)
• 
  The first and the second most voted parties in Municipal Assemblies in seach district. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)
• 
  The first and the second most voted parties in Parish Assemblies in seach district. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)

Notes

• The source of the voting data is the Portuguese Electoral Commission

Further Notes:

• Electoral Front United People (FEPU) was composed by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), the Portuguese Democratic Movement (MDP/CDE) and the People's Socialist Front (FSP).
• The number of candidacies expresses the number of municipalities or parishes in which the party or coalition presented lists.
• The number of mandates expresses the number of municipal deputies in the Municipal Assembly election and the number of parish deputies in the Parish Assembly election.
• The turnout varies because one may choose not to vote for all the organs.

See also

• Politics of Portugal
• List of political parties in Portugal
• Elections in Portugal

References

External links

Comissão Nacional de Eleições