At Stake in this Election: 

• All 230 seats in the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA (since 9 March 2016) 

• Head of Government: Caretaker Prime Minister Antônio Luis Santos da COSTA (since 24 November 2015) 

• Assembly: unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República) with 230 seats

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The President may serve up to two 5-year terms. 

• The legislative majority leader is typically appointed Prime Minister by the President. 

• In the Assembly of the Republic, 226 members are elected by closed-list proportional representation vote in multi-seat constituencies. An additional 4 members are elected by proportional representation vote from two constituencies representing the Portuguese diaspora. All members are directly elected and serve 4-year terms.

Last Election: 

In the 2022 legislative election, the Socialist Party won a majority with 117 seats, followed by the Social Democratic Party (71 seats), and four other parties. Voter turnout was 57.96%.

Information for Voters: 

Perguntas Frequentes: Votação em Portugal / FAQs: Voting in Portugal (in Portuguese)

New/Unique in this Election:  

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called a snap election after Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned due to accusations of corrupt dealings with mining and energy firms. Prime Minister Costa will continue to serve as caretaker Prime Minister until the new legislature opens.

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline:  29 January 2024 

• Voter registration deadline: None; Portugal uses a passive, residence-based voter registration system.

Main Parties in this Election: 

• Socialist Party / Partido Socialista (PS) 

• Leader: Pedro Nuno SANTOS 

• Seats won in last election: 117 out of 230 

• Social Democrats / Partido Social Demócrata (PSD) 

• Leader: Hugo SOARES 

• Seats won in last election 71 out of 230 

• Chega / Chega 

• Leader: André Amaral VENTURA 

• Seats won in last election: 12 out of 230 

• Liberal Initiative / Iniciativa Liberal 

• Leader: João Cotrim FIGUEIREDO 

• Seats won in last election: 8 out of 230 

• Unitary Democratic Coalition / Coligação Democrática Unitária (CDU) 

• Leader: Paulo RAIMUNDO 

• Seats won in last election:  

• Left Bloc / Bloco de Esquerda 

• Leader: Mariana MORTÁGUA 

• Seats won in last election: 5 out of 230

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 10,409,700 (2022 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 10,883,512 (2023)

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 5,498,030 (2022 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 24 April 1980, Ratified 30 July 1980 

• Gender Quota: Yes; Party lists for Assembly elections must consist of at least 40% female candidates and 40% of male candidates. 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 84 out of 230 (36.5%) in the Assembly of the Republic 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.866, Very High, Rank 38 (2021) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 9.5 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 23 September 2009 

• Projected population with a disability: 1,665,552 (2022 est.)

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Portugal: No 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 3 judgments and 14 resources