Tag Archive for: mayors

Local-elections

Driving issues in the local elections were housing, public health and education

Portugal’s far-right, xenophobic, nationalist and biggest party in the country Chega (‘Enough’) – defending the reduction of state intervention in the economy, promoting stricter immigration, supporting chemical castration for child abusers and incessantly attacking the Roma population – has won its first three mayoral seats in municipal elections on Sunday, the 12th of October.
But fell well short of expectations as its vote share halved from Parliamentary elections in May.

Of the merely three municipalities it captured, it won 49% of the vote in São Vicente (Madeira), 40,5% in Albufeira (Algarve) – which its leader André Ventura has called ‘the party’s stronghold’, and the springboard for Portugal’s ‘conquest’ by the far right – and 37% in Entroncamento (Tagus Valley).

The ruling centre-right Social Democratic party (PSD) – focusing on liberalising the economy and associated with conservative values – won the largest share of mayoral races, capturing 136, including the country’s five biggest cities – Lisbon, Porto, Gaia, Sintra and Cascais – up from 114 four years ago.

Together with the more conservative Christian Democratic party (CDS) – with six elected mayors on his own list – it has formed the Democratic Alliance (AD), which is governing the country since last spring.

The PSD ‘victory’ also means the party wins control of both national municipal associations, ANAFRE – the association of parish councils – and ANMP, the association of municipalities, which fell to PS Socialists over a decade ago.

‘This is very relevant’, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro declared. ‘The party now has more parish council presidents, more city council presidents and achieved historic victories in the country’s five largest municipalities, while leading the two autonomous regions (Azores and Madeira) and having a majority in parliament.’

Its centre-left Socialist (PS ) rivals – defending State intervention in the economy to improve social justice – won 128 (22 down compared to four years ago) of the total of 308 municipalities in the country and is no longer the most voted party in the local elections. But the party is pleased, for reversing the awful general elections result of last May.

Voters in Lisbon returned to the incumbent mayor – Carlos Moedas, heading a centre-right coalition – less than six weeks after a deadly funicular crash that killed 16 people, including 11 tourists, and caused a national outcry. Moedas, a rising star in the PSD, has rejected blame for the 3 September accident – most likely a break in the cable linking the two carriages – and refused to resign.
He scored 42% against 34% for the Socialist (PS) candidate Alexandra Leitão.

After three national elections in the past two years, Portuguese voters will again return to the polls next January for a presidential vote.

Enjoy your week         Aproveite a sua semana      (Pic Público/Sapo)


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Elections

‘Democracy has no owner’ (Carlos Moedas, new mayor of Lisbon)

The ruling center-left Socialist Party (PS) of prime minister António Costa won the local elections with 34% of the votes. Although less convincing than 4 years ago, when the SP was able to take the lead in 160 of the 308 municipalities. This time the party lost 11 councils.

The center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) gained ground with 24% of the votes. After its worse result ever in 2017 – winning only 98 councils – it recovered 16 municipalities, giving the party the chance to nominate the mayor.

The completely unexpected loss of the Socialists in Lisbon against Novos Tempos (‘New Times’) – a coalition of right-wing parties, including the PSD – meant a sensitive blow to the PS, who had been in power there for 14 consecutive years.

The newly elected mayor in the capital – Carlos Moedas – however, will face a red wall of councillors. The rightist PSD coalition has seven councillors, exactly the same amount as the leftist PS. But there are three more councillors who are likely to team up with the PS. Two communists and one from the Left Bloc, a party with Marxist roots and 19 deputies in Parliament but no mayors at the local level.

The Centre Democratic and Social Popular Party (CDS-PP) – a conservative Christian anti-abortion and anti-euthanasia party – won, in alliance with the PSD, in only 5 councils. One less than four years ago.

The biggest loser was the one-hundred-year-old Communist Party (PCP) – one of the strongest communist parties in Western Europe – who got just over 8% of the votes, losing 5 of their 19 councils. Their worst result since 1976, when Portugal introduced democracy after the Carnation Revolution.


The far-right, xenophobic and nationalist party Chega (‘Enough’) – with one seat in Parliament and taking part in the local elections for the first time – achieved modest success with 4% of the votes, not enough though to conquer a council.

Only 28 councils (9%) were won by a woman, 4 less than in 2017. The Socialists elected most women for mayor – 18 out of 28 – followed by the Social Democrats with 7 women and the Communists with 3 women in the leadership.

The turnout was traditionally poor.
Of the nine million voters, who were able to take part in this election, just over 50% showed up.

Enjoy your week                   Approveite sua semana      (pic Sapo/Ptres)


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