Main menu

WikipediaThe Free Encyclopedia

Search Wikipedia
Search
Create account
Log in

Personal tools
Contents hide
(Top)
Procedure
Political context
Candidates
Toggle Candidates subsection
Official candidates
Unsuccessful candidacies
Campaign period
Toggle Campaign period subsection
Party slogans
Candidates' debates
Opinion polling
Voter turnout
Results
Toggle Results subsection
National summary
Results by district
Maps
See also
References
External links
2006 Portuguese presidential election

Article
Talk
Read
Edit
View history

Tools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2006 Portuguese presidential election

? 2001 22 January 2006 2011 ?

Opinion polls
Turnout 61.5% Increase 11.8 pp

An�bal Cavaco Silva (cropped).jpg

Presidenciais 2011 Manuel Alegre (cropped).png
M�rio Soares (2003) portrait.jpg
Candidate An�bal Cavaco Silva Manuel Alegre M�rio Soares
Party PSD Independent PS
Popular vote 2,773,431 1,138,297 785,355
Percentage 50.5% 20.7% 14.3%

Jer�nimo de Sousa 2007 (cropped).jpg

Francisco Lou�� na VI Conven��o Nacional do Bloco de Esquerda 01 cropped 2.jpg
Candidate Jer�nimo de Sousa Francisco Lou��
Party PCP BE
Popular vote 474,083 292,198
Percentage 8.6% 5.3%
Presidenciais 2006 (Mapa).png
Results by municipalities.
President before election
Jorge Sampaio
PS

Elected President
An�bal Cavaco Silva
PSD

The 2006 Portuguese presidential election was held on 22 January to elect a

successor to the incumbent President Jorge Sampaio, who was term-limited from
running for a third consecutive term by the Constitution of Portugal. The result
was a victory in the first round for An�bal Cavaco Silva of the Social Democratic
Party candidate, the former Prime Minister, won 50.54 percent of the vote in the
first round, just over the majority required to avoid a runoff election. It was the
first time in which a right-wing candidate was elected President of the Republic
since the 1974 Carnation Revolution.

Voter turnout was 61.53 percent for eligible voters.

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.

Political context
In the presidential election of 14 January 2001, the outgoing Socialist Jorge
Sampaio was re-elected in the first round with 55% of votes. Because he was term-
limited, he was forbidden, by the Constitution, to run for a third consecutive
term.

In the parliamentary elections of 20 February 2005, the Socialist Party, led by

Jos� S�crates, won for the first time in its history an absolute majority of seats,
while the Social Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes fell
below 30%, their worst result since 1983.

To cope with the bad fiscal situation, the government introduced a policy of fiscal
restraint, combining higher taxes, lower public treatments and privatizations.
Adding to this, a bad summer in terms of wildfires put more pressure in the
government. This policies were not popular and as a result, the Socialists were
defeated in the local elections on 9 October 2005. In the follow up for the
presidential elections, the Socialists decided to nominate their former secretary-
general, M�rio Soares, President of the Republic between 1986 and 1996. This
decision divided the party, which led Manuel Alegre, a member of the party
parliamentary group, to announce his candidature as an independent. The Social
Democratic Party opted to support their former leader An�bal Cavaco Silva, Prime
Minister from 1985 to 1995, and presidential candidate defeated in 1996.

Candidates
Thirteen citizens sought election officially, but only six gathered the 7,500
signatures required under the constitution to be a candidate in the poll:

Official candidates
Manuel Alegre, a Socialist Party politician who ran without the official backing of
his party;
An�bal Cavaco Silva, Prime Minister from 1985 to 1995, supported by the Social
Democratic Party and by the People's Party;
Francisco Lou��, coordinator of the political commission of the Left Bloc;
Garcia Pereira, Secretary-General of the PCTP/MRPP;
M�rio Soares, President from 1986 to 1996, the official candidate of the Socialist
Party; and
Jer�nimo de Sousa, Secretary-General of the Portuguese Communist Party, also
supported by the Ecologist Party "The Greens".
All the candidates except for Cavaco Silva are considered to be from the Portuguese
political left.

Unsuccessful candidacies

Official logo of the election.

The other potential candidates who, according to the Constitutional Court, did not
gather enough signatures, were:

Josu� Rodrigues Gon�alo Pedro;

Lu�s Filipe Guerra, leader of the Humanist Party;
Teresa Lameiro;
Manuela Magno, nuclear physicist;
Carmelinda Pereira, leader of the Workers Party of Socialist Unity (POUS);
Lu�s Botelho Ribeiro; and
Diamantino da Silva;
Campaign period
Party slogans
Candidate Original slogan English translation Refs
An�bal Cavaco Silva � Portugal Maior � "Greater Portugal" [1]
M�rio Soares � Sempre presente nos momentos dif�ceis � "Always present in
difficult times" [2]
Manuel Alegre � O poder dos cidad�os � "The power of citizens" [3]
Jer�nimo de Sousa � Com toda a confian�a � "With all confidence" [4]
Francisco Lou�� � Rigor, Solidariedade � "Rigor, Solidarity" [5]
Ant�nio Garcia Pereira � A coragem de mudar de rumo � "The courage to change
course" [6]
Candidates' debates
2006 Portuguese presidential election debates
Date Organisers Moderator(s) P Present A Absent invitee N Non-
invitee
Cavaco Soares Alegre Jer�nimo Lou�� Refs
5 Dec 2005 SIC Rodrigo Guedes de Carvalho,
Ricardo Costa [pt] P N P N N [7]
8 Dec 2005 RTP1 N P N P N [7]
9 Dec 2005 TVI Constan�a Cunha e S�,
Miguel Sousa Tavares P N N N P [7]
12 Dec 2005 RTP1 N N P N P [7]
13 Dec 2005 TVI Constan�a Cunha e S�,
Miguel Sousa Tavares N P P N N [7]
14 Dec 2005 SIC Rodrigo Guedes de Carvalho,
Ricardo Costa [pt] P N N P N [7]
15 Dec 2005 RTP1 Judite de Sousa,
Jos� Alberto Carvalho N N N P P [7]
16 Dec 2005 SIC N P N N P [7]
19 Dec 2005 TVI N N P P N [7]
20 Dec 2005 RTP1 Judite de Sousa,
Jos� Alberto Carvalho P P N N N [7]
Candidate viewed as "most convincing" in each debate
Date Organisers Polling firm/Link
Cavaco Soares Alegre Jer�nimo Lou�� Refs
5 Dec 2005 SIC Eurosondagem 27.3 � 15.7 � � 57.0% Neither/Tie
12 Dec 2005 TVI Eurosondagem � 19.3 20.7 � � 60.0% Neither/Tie
Opinion polling
Main article: Opinion polling for the 2006 Portuguese presidential election

Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues.

Voter turnout
The table below shows voter turnout throughout election day including voters from
Overseas. Due to lack of data from the 2001 election, it's not possible to compare
the turnout throughout election day between the two elections.

Turnout Time
12:00 16:00 19:00
2001 2006 2001 2006 2001 2006 �
Total � 19.32% � 45.56% 49.71% 61.53% Increase 11.82 pp
Sources[8][9]
Results
National summary
Summary of the 22 January 2006 Portuguese presidential election results
Candidates Supporting parties First round
Votes %
An�bal Cavaco Silva Social Democratic Party, People's Party 2,773,431 50.54
Manuel Alegre Independent 1,138,297 20.74
M�rio Soares Socialist Party 785,355 14.31
Jer�nimo de Sousa Portuguese Communist Party, Ecologist Party "The Greens"
474,083 8.64
Francisco Lou�� Left Bloc 292,198 5.32
Ant�nio Garcia Pereira Portuguese Workers' Communist Party 23,983 0.44
Total valid 5,487,347 100.00
Blank ballots 59,636 1.07
Invalid ballots 43,149 0.77
Total 5,590,132
Registered voters/turnout 9,085,339 61.53
Source: Comiss�o Nacional de Elei��es
Vote share First Round
An�bal Cavaco Silva
?
50.54%
Manuel Alegre
?
20.74%
M�rio Soares
?
14.31%
Jer�nimo de Sousa
?
8.64%
Francisco Lou��
?
5.32%
Ant�nio Garcia Pereira
?
0.44%
Blank/Invalid
?
1.84%
Results by district
District Cavaco Alegre Soares Jer�nimo Lou�� Garcia Pereira
Turnout
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Aveiro 228,343 59.74% 68,101 17.82% 51,696 13.52%
16,209 4.24% 16,668 4.36% 1,222 0.32% 65.06%
Azores 45,065 55.57% 13,424 16.55% 16,001 19.73%
2,250 2.77% 4,018 4.95% 345 0.43% 43.04%
Beja 21,708 27.33% 21,235 26.74% 10,633 13.39%
21,685 27.53% 3,649 4.59% 336 0.42% 58.41%
Braga 266,000 56.98% 76,836 16.46% 73,257 15.69%
26,618 5.70% 22,661 4.85% 1,464 0.31% 67.61%
Bragan�a 53,747 67.30% 12,714 15.92% 8,554 10.71%
2,183 2.73% 2,410 3.02% 253 0.32% 53.91%
Castelo Branco 56,618 49.70% 26,401 23.17% 18,130
15.91% 6,799 5.97% 5,513 4.84% 466 0.41% 61.37%
Coimbra 113,320 49.22% 62,908 27.32% 30,199 13.12%
13,157 5.71% 9,836 4.27% 830 0.36% 62.02%
�vora 28,166 31.48% 24,334 27.19% 12,857 14.37%
19,836 22.17% 3,982 4.45% 305 0.34% 61.97%
Faro 93,021 48.72% 44,268 23.18% 24,946 13.06%
14,540 7.61% 13,107 6.86% 1,064 0.56% 59.92%
Guarda 58,568 60.33% 18,984 19.55% 11,557 11.90%
3,964 4.08% 3,608 3.72% 400 0.41% 58.26%
Leiria 151,956 62.30% 42,424 17.39% 25,022 10.26%
12,324 5.05% 11,238 4.61% 955 0.39% 64.14%
Lisbon 498,470 44.62% 266,680 23.87% 161,411 14.45%
119,116 10.66% 64,877 5.81% 6,497 0.58% 63.84%
Madeira 76,598 58.47% 20,601 15.72% 15,595 11.90%
6,757 5.16% 10,206 7.79% 1,252 0.96% 58.19%
Portalegre 24,544 37.80% 17,184 26.46% 10,609 16.34%
9,355 14.41% 2,988 4.60% 254 0.39% 60.96%
Porto 487,852 51.29% 169,741 17.84% 168,772 17.74%
65,668 6.90% 55,959 5.88% 3,262 0.34% 66.16%
Santar�m 115,032 47.75% 56,585 23.49% 31,244 12.97%
23,408 9.72% 13,513 5.61% 1,119 0.46% 63.19%
Set�bal 129,053 32.14% 109,052 27.16% 49,228 12.26%
85,117 21.20% 27,063 6.74% 1,984 0.49% 61.92%
Viana do Castelo 83,542 60.64% 22,108 16.05% 18,816
13.66% 6,616 4.80% 6,145 4.46% 530 0.38% 59.47%
Vila Real 78,465 64.61% 17,656 14.54% 17,131 14.11%
4,065 3.35% 3,738 3.08% 392 0.32% 55.17%
Viseu 136,621 65.68% 33,841 16.27% 23,123 11.22%
6,660 3.20% 7,082 3.40% 692 0.33% 58.87%
Overseas 12,048 64.63% 2,395 12.85% 2,732 14.66% 853
4.58% 495 2.66% 118 0.63% 10.07%
Source: 2006 Presidential election results
Maps
Strongest candidate by electoral district. (Azores and Madeira not shown)
Strongest candidate by electoral district. (Azores and Madeira not shown)

Strongest candidate by municipality.

Strongest candidate by municipality.

See also
President of Portugal
Portugal
Politics of Portugal
References
"Os cartazes das elei��es presidenciais desde 1976". P�blico (in Portuguese).
Retrieved 12 May 2020.
"Os cartazes das elei��es presidenciais desde 1976". P�blico (in Portuguese).
Retrieved 12 May 2020.
"Os cartazes das elei��es presidenciais desde 1976". P�blico (in Portuguese).
Retrieved 12 May 2020.
"Os cartazes das elei��es presidenciais desde 1976". P�blico (in Portuguese).
Retrieved 12 May 2020.
"ELEI��ES PRESIDENCIAIS DE 2006 � BE � FRANCISCO LOU�A". EPHEMERA (in Portuguese).
Retrieved 12 May 2020.
"Os cartazes das elei��es presidenciais desde 1976". P�blico (in Portuguese).
Retrieved 12 May 2020.
"Cinco candidatos na arena televisiva". P�blico (in Portuguese). 5 December 2005.
Retrieved 12 May 2020.
"Presidenciais 2006". eleicoes.mai.gov.pt/Presidenciais2006/index.html (in
Portuguese). Ministry of Internal Administration. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
"Aflu�ncia �s urnas nos 45,77% �s 16:00". RTP (in Portuguese). 22 January 2006.
Retrieved 9 June 2023.
External links
Portuguese Electoral Commission
Official results site, Portuguese Justice Ministry
NSD: European Election Database - Portugal Archived 2014-12-20 at the Wayback
Machine publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election
results, 1990�2010
vte
Portugal Portuguese presidential elections
vte
Portugal Elections and referendums in Portugal
Categories: 2006 elections in PortugalPresidential elections in PortugalJanuary
2006 events in Europe
This page was last edited on 17 June 2023, at 07:21 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia� is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaCode of ConductMobile
viewDevelopersStatisticsCookie statementWikimedia FoundationPowered by
MediaWikiToggle limited content width