1976 Portuguese presidential election

1976 Portuguese presidential election

← 1972 27 June 1976 1980 →
Turnout	75.47%
Candidate António Ramalho Eanes Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho Party Independent[a] Independent[b] Popular vote 2,967,137 792,760 Percentage 61.59% 16.46%   IND Candidate José Pinheiro de Azevedo Octávio Pato Party Independent PCP Popular vote 692,147 365,586 Percentage 14.37% 7.59%
Results by district Results by municipality Eanes   30-40%   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%   >90% Carvalho   30-40%   40-50%   50-60%   60-70% Pato   30-40%   40-50%
President before election Francisco da Costa Gomes Independent Elected President António Ramalho Eanes Independent

Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 27 June 1976.

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.

Electoral system

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 7,500 and 15,000 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 and 1976, Independent candidate;
• Octávio Pato, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party;
• Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Military officer, Independent candidate supported by the Popular Democratic Union, Movement of Socialist Left, People's Socialist Front and the Revolutionary Party of the Proletariat – Revolutionary Brigades;

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

Candidates' debates

Results

Results by district

Maps

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

Notes

References

• "CNE Resultados". Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Archived from the original on 8 April 2005. 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