Portuguese presidential election, 1986

Updated on Nov 20, 2023

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26 January 1986 (1st round) 16 February 1986 (2nd round) 1991 → 51.2% 48.8%		3,010,756 2,872,064 Start date 1986

Turnout 75,38% (1st round) 77,99% (2nd round) Winner Mário Soares

The Portuguese presidential election of 1986 was held on 26 January, the second round took place on 16 February.

This was closest presidential election ever held in Portugal and was won by the Socialist Mário Soares, who initially had no more than 5% at opinion polls.

In first round was easily won by Freitas do Amaral, supported by all the right-wing parties, while Soares defeated the other two left-wing candidates, the former Prime-Minister Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo - to date the only woman to be a candidate to the Portuguese presidency - and Salgado Zenha (supported by outgoing president António Ramalho Eanes, founder of the short-lived Democratic Renewal Party, and by the Portuguese Communist Party, whose candidate, Ângelo Veloso, left the race some days before the poll). Both these candidates supported Soares in the second round.

Soares did not achieved the majority of the voting in any district, as the left-wing strongholds in the South of Portugal voted for Zenha due to his support by the Communist Party.

As results for the second round were counted, the urban vote, traditionally more left-wing, overcame the early lead of Freitas do Amaral by less than 140,000 votes, and Soares became president on 9 March 1986.

To date this was the only time a Portuguese presidential election was taken into a second round.

Procedure

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 7500 and 15000 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

Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Interim Prime Minister between December 1980 and January 1981, leader of the Democratic and Social Centre between 1974 and 1983, supported by the Democratic and Social Centre and the Social Democratic Party;

Mário Soares, former Prime Minister between 1976-1978 and 1983-1985, leader of the Socialist Party between 1973 and 1985, supported by the Socialist Party;

Francisco Salgado Zenha, fomerme Minister of Justice in Vasco Gonçalves governments, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party and Democratic Renewal Party;

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, Independent candidate, former Prime Minister between 1979 and 1980;

Ângelo Veloso, Official candidate of the Portuguese Communist Party, Left the race to support Salgado Zenha;