Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 23 January 2011. The elections resulted in the re-election of Aníbal Cavaco Silva to a second term as President of Portugal. Turnout in this election was very low, where only 46.52% of the electorate cast their ballots. Cavaco Silva won by a landslide winning all 18 districts, both Autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira and 292 municipalities of a total of 308.
Background
During the 2006 presidential elections, former Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the only candidate of the center-right had won the ballot in the first round with 50.5% of the votes cast. He had faced two particular candidates from the ruling Socialist Party, the official candidate Mário Soares, former President of the Republic came in third with 14.3%, Manuel Alegre, a dissident, ranked second with 20.7% of votes. This historic victory of a conservative candidate, the first after the Carnation Revolution, inaugurated a period of "political cohabitation" with Socialist Prime Minister José Sócrates.
The general elections of September 2009 confirmed this situation, and brought the PS once again to power, however depriving them of an absolute majority. The situation of economic and financial crisis that the country was facing led to the adoption of an austerity plan and budget for more frequent intervention of the Head of State in politics to promote agreement among political parties in the country.
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 simple majority (50% + 1). If no candidate gets this majority there is a second round between the two most voted candidates.
Luís Botelho Ribeiro: Leader of the Pro-life party. His application was formalised on Monday, 20 December, with over 8,000 signatures. His candidacy was analysed by the Constitutional Court. On 29 December, the court concluded that his candidacy did not meet the requirements provided by law.[9]
José Pinto Coelho: Leader of the far-right National Renovator Party. He declared that his candidacy for the presidency was "cut short" by failing to gather the 7,500 signatures required. He claimed to have gathered 5,878 signatures.[11]
^"Cavaco Silva recandidata-se para "ajudar o país a encontrar um rumo para o futuro"". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 26 October 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"PSD convoca Conselho Nacional para declarar "apoio inequívoco" a Cavaco Silva". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 26 October 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Manuel Alegre anuncia candidatura à Presidência da República". Público (in Portuguese). 15 January 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Fernando Nobre candidato à Presidência da República". Correio da Manhã (in Portuguese). 17 February 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Defensor Moura quer pôr fim a hábito de reeleger presidente". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 1 August 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Francisco Lopes é o candidato presidencial escolhido pelo PCP". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 24 August 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Os Verdes apoiam Francisco Lopes, o único que "corta com os caminhos da direita" do Governo". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 13 November 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"PND apoia candidatura de José Manuel Coelho à Presidência da República". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 14 November 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Tribunal rejeita recurso de Luís Botelho Ribeiro". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 3 January 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Presidenciais: Ribeiro e Castro não apresenta candidatura". Expresso (in Portuguese). 9 October 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Líder do PNR desiste da candidatura a Belém". TVI24 (in Portuguese). 22 December 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"ELEIÇÕES PRESIDENCIAIS DE 2011 – CANDIDATURA DE MANUEL ALEGRE". EPHEMERA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"ELEIÇÕES PRESIDENCIAIS DE 2011 – CANDIDATURA DE FERNANDO NOBRE". EPHEMERA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^ a b c d e f g h i j"Primeiro debate televisivo no dia 14 e último a 29". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 7 December 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^"Presidenciais 2011 - Afluência". eleicoes.mai.gov.pt/presidenciais2011/index.html (in Portuguese). Ministry of Internal Administration. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
^"Presidenciais 2006". eleicoes.mai.gov.pt/Presidenciais2006/index.html (in Portuguese). Ministry of Internal Administration. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
External links
Official campaign websites
Aníbal Cavaco Silva official website
Manuel Alegre official website
Fernando Nobre official website
Francisco Lopes official website
Defensor Moura official website Archived 2011-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
José Manuel Coelho official website
Other websites
Portuguese Electoral Commission
Official results site, Portuguese Justice Ministry
Publication of Polls (ERC)
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