1976 Portuguese presidential election

The Portuguese presidential election of 1976 was held on 27 June.

1976 Portuguese presidential election

27 June 1976
Turnout	75.5%
Candidate António Ramalho Eanes Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho Party Independent Independent Popular vote 2,967,137 792,760 Percentage 61.6% 16.5%   Candidate José Pinheiro de Azevedo Octávio Pato Party Independent PCP Popular vote 692,147 365,586 Percentage 14.4% 7.6%
President before election Francisco da Costa Gomes Independent Elected President António Ramalho Eanes Independent

With a broad base of support that comprised the center-left and the center-right, Ramalho Eanes won the election on the first round and became the first elected President of Portugal after the Carnation Revolution.

The Portuguese Communist Party presented its own candidate, Octávio Pato, a well known anti-fascist. One of the major responsibles for the military operations during the Carnation Revolution, in 1974, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, was also a candidate.

Procedure

Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it is necessary to gather between 7500 and 15000 signatures and submit them to the Portuguese Constitutional Court.

According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a majority of votes. If no candidate gets this majority there will take place a second round between the two most voted candidates.

Candidates

Official candidates

• António Ramalho Eanes, Military officer, Main leader against the Coup of 25 November 1975, former chairman of RTP, supported by the Socialist Party, Social Democratic Party, Democratic and Social Centre and the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party;
• José Pinheiro de Azevedo, Navy officer, Prime Minister between 1975-1976, Independent candidate;
• Octávio Pato, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party;
• Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Military officer, Independent candidate;

Unsuccessful candidacies

There was also one candidate rejected by the Portuguese Constitutional Court for not complying with the legal requirements:

• Venceslau Pompílio da Cruz;

Campaign period

Party slogans

Candidate		Original slogan	English translation	Refs
	António Ramalho Eanes	« Muitos prometem... Eanes cumpre » « Candidato de Portugal »	"Many promise ... Eanes delivers" "Portugal's Candidate"	[1]
	Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho	« O 25 de Abril à Presidência »	"April 25 to the Presidency"	[2]
	José Pinheiro de Azevedo	« Vota Pinheiro de Azevedo »	"Vote Pinheiro de Azevedo"	[3]
	Octávio Pato	« Pela democracia e o socialismo »	"For democracy and socialism"	[4]

Candidates' debates

1976 Portuguese presidential election debates
Date	Organisers	Moderator(s)	P  Present    A  Absent invitee  N  Non-invitee
			Eanes	Otelo	Azevedo	Pato	Refs
9 Jun 1976	RTP1	Joaquim Letria	P	P	P	P	[5][6][7]

Results

Summary of the 27 June 1976 Portuguesepresidentialelection results

Candidates		Supporting parties	First round
			Votes	%
	António Ramalho Eanes	Independent	2,967,137	61.59
	Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho	Independent	792,760	16.46
	José Pinheiro de Azevedo	Independent	692,147	14.37
	Octávio Rodrigues Pato	Portuguese Communist Party	365,586	7.59
Total valid			4,817,630	100.00
Blank ballots			43,242	0.89
Invalid ballots			20,253	0.41
Total			4,881,125
Registered voters/turnout			6,467,480	75.47
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Vote share 1st Round António Ramalho Eanes   61.59% Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho   16.46% José Pinheiro de Azevedo   14.37% Octávio Rodrigues Pato   7.59% Blank/Invalid   1.30%

Maps

• 
  Strongest candidate by electoral district.
• 
  Strongest candidate by municipality: Eanes - magenta; Otelo - dark red; Octávio Pato - red.

References

1. "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
2. "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
3. "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
4. "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
5. "Confronto: 4 Candidatos para Belém – Parte I". RTP (in Portuguese). 9 June 1976. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
6. "Confronto: 4 Candidatos para Belém – Parte II". RTP (in Portuguese). 9 June 1976. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
7. "Confronto: 4 Candidatos para Belém – Parte III". RTP (in Portuguese). 9 June 1976. Retrieved 26 May 2020.

• "CNE Resultados". Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Retrieved 17 May 2005.
• "Centro de Estudos do Pensamento Político". Archived from the original on 2006-08-18. Retrieved 17 May 2005.

External links

• Portuguese Electoral Commission

See also

• President of Portugal
• Portugal
• Politics of Portugal