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2025 Portuguese local elections

2025 Portuguese local elections
← 2021 12 October 2025
All 308 Portuguese municipalities and 3,259[1] Portuguese Parishes
All 2,058 local government councils[2]
Opinion polls
 
José Luis Carneiro (cropped).jpg
Luís Montenegro, 2025.06.26 (04) (cropped).jpg
Paulo Raimundo (Agência Lusa 2023-10-18) (cropped).png
Leader José Luís Carneiro Luís Montenegro Paulo Raimundo
Party PS PSD PCP
Alliance CDU
Last election 148 mayors, 37.1% 114 mayors, 32.1% 19 mayors, 8.2%

Local elections will be held in Portugal on 12 October 2025.[3] The election consistes of three separate elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, another election for the Municipal Assembly, as well an election for the lower-level Parish Assembly, whose winner is elected parish president. This last will be held separately in the more than 3,000 parishes around the country.

In this election, 89 incumbent mayors (28.9 percent) have reached their term limit so are barred from seeking re-election. Of those 89, 49 are from the PS, 21 from the PSD, 12 from CDU, 4 Independents and 3 from the CDS–PP.[4] The number of parishes up for election will grow from the current 3,092 to 3,259 because of changes in the 2013 local reform law that allowed the separation of merged parishes, of which 167 separations were approved.[5][6][7]

Background

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Date

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According to the local election law, an election must be called between 22 September and 14 October of the year that the local mandates end. The election is called by a Government of Portugal decree, unlike legislative elections which are called by the President of the Republic. The election date must be announced at least 80 days before election day. Election day is the same in all municipalities, and should fall on a Sunday or national holiday. The 2025 local elections would, therefore, have to take place no later than 12 October 2025,[8] which was the date chosen to hold the elections.[3]

Electoral system

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Map of the 308 municipalities up for election.

All 308 municipalities are allocated a certain number of councilors to elect corresponding to the number of registered voters in a given municipality. Each party or coalition must present a list of candidates. The winner of the most voted list for the municipal council is automatically elected mayor, similar to first-past-the-post (FPTP). The lists are closed and the seats in each municipality are apportioned according to the D'Hondt method. Unlike in national legislative elections, independent lists are allowed to run.[9]

Council seats and Parish assembly seats are distributed as follows:

Seat allocation for the 2025 local election[10]
Councilors Parish Assembly
Seats Voters Seats Voters
17 only Lisbon 19+a more than 30,000 voters
13 only Porto 19 more than 20,000 voters
11 100,000 voters or more 13 more than 5,000 voters
9 more than 50,000 voters 9 more than 1,000 voters
7 more than 10,000 voters 7 1,000 voters or less
5 10,000 voters or less

a For parishes with more than 30,000 voters, the number of seats mentioned above is increased by one per every 10,000 voters in excess of that number, and then by one more if the result is even.

Parties

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The main political forces that will be involved in the election are:

1 The PSD, IL and the CDS–PP are expected to form coalitions in several municipalities between them, and also with other some smaller center-right/right-wing parties like the Earth Party (MPT) and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM).[11]
2 The PS and Livre are expected to form coalitions in several municipalities between them, and also with smaller parties like PAN.[11]

Opinion polls

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Main article: Opinion polling for the 2025 Portuguese local elections

Key Races

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The following table lists the current party control in all district capitals, highlighted in bold, as well as in municipalities above 100,000 inhabitants.[12] Population estimates from 2024.[13]

Municipality Population Current control New control
Almada 183,643 Socialist Party (PS)
Amadora 181,607 Socialist Party (PS)
Aveiro 88,154 PSD / CDS–PP / PPM
Barcelos 116,959 PSD / CDS–PP
Beja 33,954 Socialist Party (PS)
Braga 203,519 PSD / CDS–PP / PPM / Alliance
Bragança 35,581 Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Cascais 222,339 PSD / CDS–PP
Castelo Branco 53,342 Socialist Party (PS)
Coimbra 146,899 PSD / CDS–PP / NC / PPM / Alliance / RIR / Volt
Évora 53,908 Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Faro 70,347 PSD / CDS–PP / IL / PPM / MPT
Funchal 108,129 PSD / CDS–PP
Gondomar 169,388 Socialist Party (PS)
Guarda 40,046 Independent (IND)
Guimarães 156,513 Socialist Party (PS)
Leiria 136,006 Socialist Party (PS)
Lisbon 575,739 PSD / CDS–PP / Alliance / MPT / PPM
Loures 209,877 Socialist Party (PS)
Maia 144,664 PSD / CDS–PP
Matosinhos 181,046 Socialist Party (PS)
Odivelas 156,278 Socialist Party (PS)
Oeiras 177,866 Independent (IND)
Ponta Delgada 69,038 Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Portalegre 21,754 PSD / CDS–PP
Porto 252,687 Independent (IND)
Santarém 61,664 Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Santa Maria da Feira 140,568 Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Seixal 176,883 Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Setúbal 124,339 Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)
Sintra 400,947 Socialist Party (PS)
Valongo 101,464 Socialist Party (PS)
Viana do Castelo 86,975 Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Franca de Xira 140,711 Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Nova de Famalicão 136,704 PSD / CDS–PP
Vila Nova de Gaia 312,984 Socialist Party (PS)
Vila Real 50,043 Socialist Party (PS)
Viseu 103,502 Social Democratic Party (PSD)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ DGAI - Reorganização Administrativa do Território das Freguesias - (RATF)
  2. ^ "Mapa do número de mandatos por órgão municipal" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Governo marca eleições autárquicas para 12 de outubro" (in Portuguese). Observador. 3 July 2025.
  4. ^ Expresso, Agência Lusa (6 July 2025). "Quem está obrigado a abandonar a Câmara nas eleições autárquicas 2025: lista de presidentes de saída, concelho a concelho". sapo.pt/noticias (in Portuguese). Sapo. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Prazos e procedimentos para desagregar freguesias estão a ser cumpridos". www.publico.pt/ (in Portuguese). Público. 7 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Lei n.º 25-A/2025, de 13 de março". www.publico.pt/ (in Portuguese). Diário da República. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Pelo menos 185 freguesias pediram ao parlamento para se desagregarem". www.dn.pt/ (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Lei Eleitoral dos Orgãos das Autarquias Locais" (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições (in Portuguese): 57. 2020.
  9. ^ "Eleição dos titulares dos órgãos das autarquias locais" (in Portuguese). Diário da República. 14 August 2001. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  10. ^ "AUTARQUIAS LOCAIS - COMPETÊNCIAS E REGIME JURÍDICO". Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa (in Portuguese). 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Partidos vão bater recorde de coligações nas autárquicas" (in Portuguese). Jornal de Notícias. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  12. ^ ECO (2025-01-21). "ECO/Local Online aposta em 26 municípios nas Autárquicas". ECO (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  13. ^ "População residente (N.º) por Local de residência (NUTS - 2024), Sexo e Grupo etário; Anual". INE. 18 June 2025. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
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