Portugal - March 2024
Conservatives narrowly win snap general elections
On 10 March, Portugal held an early general election, after Prime Minister Antonio Costa (Socialist Party) resigned in November over corruption allegations. The 230 seats in Portugal’s unicameral Parliament were contested across 22 constituencies (comprised of 18 metropolitan constituencies, the two autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores, and two constituencies for Portuguese citizens living abroad). The conservative Democratic Alliance coalition narrowly won 28.84 per cent of votes (78 seats), while the Socialist Party retained 28 per cent (78 seats). The far-right Chega party came in third with 18.07 per cent of the vote, securing 50 seats. A total of nine parties will be represented in Parliament. Voter turnout was 59.84 per cent. A total of 76 of the 230 seats in the new Parliament were won by women (33 per cent).
Sources: International IDEA, OSCE, Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, NPR, Portugal Resident, Expresso, Parliament
