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2006 Portuguese presidential election

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Field	Value
country	Portugal
type	presidential
previous_election	2001 Portuguese presidential election
previous_year	2001
next_election	2011 Portuguese presidential election
next_year	2011
election_date	22 January 2006
turnout	61.53% ( 11.82pp)
opinion_polls	Opinion polling for the 2006 Portuguese presidential election
image1
candidate1	Aníbal Cavaco Silva
party1	PSD
{{Collapsible list
title
bullets	off
popular_vote1	2,773,431
percentage1	50.54%
image2
candidate2	Manuel Alegre
party2	Independent
popular_vote2	1,138,297
percentage2	20.74%
image3
candidate3	Mário Soares
party3	Socialist Party (Portugal)
popular_vote3	785,355
percentage3	14.31%
image4
candidate4	Jerónimo de Sousa
party4	PCP
{{Collapsible list
title
bullets	off
popular_vote4	474,083
percentage4	8.64%
image5
candidate5	Francisco Louçã
party5	Left Bloc (Portugal)
popular_vote5	292,198
percentage5	5.32%
map_image	{{switcher
default	1}}
map_caption
title	President
before_election	Jorge Sampaio
before_party	Socialist Party (Portugal)
after_election	Aníbal Cavaco Silva
after_party	Social Democratic Party (Portugal)

{{Collapsible list | CDS–PP

{{Collapsible list | PEV

Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 22 January 2006 to elect a successor to the incumbent President Jorge Sampaio, who was term-limited from running for a third consecutive term by the Constitution of Portugal. The result was a victory in the first round for Aníbal Cavaco Silva of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate, the former Prime Minister, won 50.54 percent of the vote in the first round, just over the majority required to avoid a runoff election.

It was the first time in which a right-wing candidate was elected President of the Republic since the 1974 Carnation Revolution. From 2006 until 2026, the PSD supported candidates won every election since.

Voter turnout was 62 percent.

Background

In the presidential election of 14 January 2001, the outgoing Socialist Jorge Sampaio was re-elected in the first round with 55 percent of votes. Because he was term-limited, he was forbidden, by the Constitution, to run for a third consecutive term.

In the parliamentary elections of 20 February 2005, the Socialist Party, led by José Sócrates, won for the first time in its history with an absolute majority of seats, while the Social Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes fell below 30 percent, their worst result since 1983.

To cope with the bad fiscal situation, the government introduced a policy of fiscal restraint, combining higher taxes, lower public treatments and privatizations. Adding to this, a bad summer in terms of wildfires put more pressure in the government. This policies were not popular and as a result, the Socialists were defeated in the local elections on 9 October 2005. In the follow-up for the presidential elections, the Socialists decided to nominate their former secretary-general, Mário Soares, President of the Republic between 1986 and 1996. This decision divided the party, which led Manuel Alegre, a member of the party parliamentary group, to announce his candidature as an independent. The Social Democratic Party opted to support their former leader Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Prime Minister from 1985 to 1995, and presidential candidate defeated in 1996.

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

Thirteen citizens sought election officially, but only six gathered the 7,500 signatures required under the constitution to be a candidate in the poll:

Official candidates

Manuel Alegre, a Socialist Party politician who ran without the official backing of his party;
Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Prime Minister from 1985 to 1995, supported by the Social Democratic Party and by the People's Party;
Francisco Louçã, coordinator of the political commission of the Left Bloc;
Garcia Pereira, Secretary-General of the PCTP/MRPP;
Mário Soares, President from 1986 to 1996, the official candidate of the Socialist Party; and
Jerónimo de Sousa, Secretary-General of the Portuguese Communist Party, also supported by the Ecologist Party "The Greens".

All the candidates except for Cavaco Silva are considered to be from the Portuguese political left.

Unsuccessful candidacies

The other potential candidates who, according to the Constitutional Court, did not gather enough signatures, were:

Josué Rodrigues Gonçalo Pedro;
Luís Filipe Guerra, leader of the Humanist Party;
Teresa Lameiro;
Manuela Magno, nuclear physicist;
Carmelinda Pereira, leader of the Workers Party of Socialist Unity (POUS);
Luís Botelho Ribeiro; and
Diamantino da Silva;

Campaign period

Party slogans

Candidate	English translation	Refs
Social Democratic Party (Portugal)}}"	Aníbal Cavaco Silva	« Portugal Maior »	"Greater Portugal"
Socialist Party (Portugal)}}"	Mário Soares	« Sempre presente nos momentos difíceis »	"Always present in difficult times"
Independent}}"	Manuel Alegre	« O poder dos cidadãos »	"The power of citizens"
Unitary Democratic Coalition}}"	Jerónimo de Sousa	« Com toda a confiança »	"With all confidence"
Left Bloc (Portugal)}};"	Francisco Louçã	« Rigor, Solidariedade »	"Rigor, Solidarity"
Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the Proletariat}};"	António Garcia Pereira	« A coragem de mudar de rumo »	"The courage to change course"

Candidates' debates

2006 Portuguese presidential election debates	Date	Organisers	Moderator(s)	Present Absent invitee Non-invitee	Cavaco	Soares	Alegre	Jerónimo	Louçã	Refs
5 Dec 2005	SIC	Rodrigo Guedes de Carvalho,
P	N	P	N	N	date=5 December 2005	url=https://www.publico.pt/2005/12/05/politica/noticia/cinco-candidatos-na-arena-televisiva-1240997	title=Cinco candidatos na arena televisiva	language=pt	work=Público	access-date=12 May 2020}}
8 Dec 2005	RTP1		N	P	N	P	N
9 Dec 2005	TVI	Constança Cunha e Sá,
Miguel Sousa Tavares	P	N	N	N	P
12 Dec 2005	RTP1		N	N	P	N	P
13 Dec 2005	TVI	Constança Cunha e Sá,
Miguel Sousa Tavares	N	P	P	N	N
14 Dec 2005	SIC	Rodrigo Guedes de Carvalho,
P	N	N	P	N
15 Dec 2005	RTP1	Judite de Sousa,
José Alberto Carvalho	N	N	N	P	P
16 Dec 2005	SIC		N	P	N	N	P
19 Dec 2005	TVI		N	N	P	P	N
20 Dec 2005	RTP1	Judite de Sousa,
José Alberto Carvalho	P	P	N	N	N
5 Dec 2005	SIC	[Eurosondagem](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/pais/sondagem-da-vitoria-tangencial-de-alegre-sobre-soares-no-debate_n22249)		27.3		15.7			57.0% Neither/Tie
12 Dec 2005	TVI	[Eurosondagem](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/pais/sondagem-da-vitoria-tangencial-de-alegre-sobre-soares-no-debate_n22249)		19.3	20.7			60.0% Neither/Tie

Opinion polling

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2006 Portuguese presidential election

Voter turnout

The table below shows voter turnout throughout election day including voters from Overseas. Due to lack of data from the 2001 election, it's not possible to compare the turnout throughout election day between the two elections.

Turnout	Time	12:00	16:00	19:00	2001	2006	2001	2006	2001	2006	±
Total		19.32%		45.56%	49.71%	61.53%	11.82 pp
Sources

Results

National summary

Results by district

District	Cavaco	Alegre	Soares	Jerónimo	Louçã	Garcia Pereira	Turnout	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Aveiro	; color:#000;"	228,343	; color:#000;"	59.74%	68,101	17.82%	51,696	13.52%	16,209	4.24%	16,668	4.36%	1,222	0.32%	65.06%
Azores	; color:#000;"	45,065	; color:#000;"	55.57%	13,424	16.55%	16,001	19.73%	2,250	2.77%	4,018	4.95%	345	0.43%	43.04%
Beja	21,708	27.33%	21,235	26.74%	10,633	13.39%	21,685	27.53%	3,649	4.59%	336	0.42%	58.41%
Braga	; color:#000;"	266,000	; color:#000;"	56.98%	76,836	16.46%	73,257	15.69%	26,618	5.70%	22,661	4.85%	1,464	0.31%	67.61%
Bragança	; color:#000;"	53,747	; color:#000;"	67.30%	12,714	15.92%	8,554	10.71%	2,183	2.73%	2,410	3.02%	253	0.32%	53.91%
Castelo Branco	; color:#000;"	56,618	; color:#000;"	49.70%	26,401	23.17%	18,130	15.91%	6,799	5.97%	5,513	4.84%	466	0.41%	61.37%
Coimbra	; color:#000;"	113,320	; color:#000;"	49.22%	62,908	27.32%	30,199	13.12%	13,157	5.71%	9,836	4.27%	830	0.36%	62.02%
Évora	; color:#000;"	28,166	; color:#000;"	31.48%	24,334	27.19%	12,857	14.37%	19,836	22.17%	3,982	4.45%	305	0.34%	61.97%
Faro	; color:#000;"	93,021	; color:#000;"	48.72%	44,268	23.18%	24,946	13.06%	14,540	7.61%	13,107	6.86%	1,064	0.56%	59.92%
Guarda	; color:#000;"	58,568	; color:#000;"	60.33%	18,984	19.55%	11,557	11.90%	3,964	4.08%	3,608	3.72%	400	0.41%	58.26%
Leiria	; color:#000;"	151,956	; color:#000;"	62.30%	42,424	17.39%	25,022	10.26%	12,324	5.05%	11,238	4.61%	955	0.39%	64.14%
Lisbon	; color:#000;"	498,470	; color:#000;"	44.62%	266,680	23.87%	161,411	14.45%	119,116	10.66%	64,877	5.81%	6,497	0.58%	63.84%
Madeira	; color:#000;"	76,598	; color:#000;"	58.47%	20,601	15.72%	15,595	11.90%	6,757	5.16%	10,206	7.79%	1,252	0.96%	58.19%
Portalegre	; color:#000;"	24,544	; color:#000;"	37.80%	17,184	26.46%	10,609	16.34%	9,355	14.41%	2,988	4.60%	254	0.39%	60.96%
Porto	; color:#000;"	487,852	; color:#000;"	51.29%	169,741	17.84%	168,772	17.74%	65,668	6.90%	55,959	5.88%	3,262	0.34%	66.16%
Santarém	; color:#000;"	115,032	; color:#000;"	47.75%	56,585	23.49%	31,244	12.97%	23,408	9.72%	13,513	5.61%	1,119	0.46%	63.19%
Setúbal	; color:#000;"	129,053	; color:#000;"	32.14%	109,052	27.16%	49,228	12.26%	85,117	21.20%	27,063	6.74%	1,984	0.49%	61.92%
Viana do Castelo	; color:#000;"	83,542	; color:#000;"	60.64%	22,108	16.05%	18,816	13.66%	6,616	4.80%	6,145	4.46%	530	0.38%	59.47%
Vila Real	; color:#000;"	78,465	; color:#000;"	64.61%	17,656	14.54%	17,131	14.11%	4,065	3.35%	3,738	3.08%	392	0.32%	55.17%
Viseu	; color:#000;"	136,621	; color:#000;"	65.68%	33,841	16.27%	23,123	11.22%	6,660	3.20%	7,082	3.40%	692	0.33%	58.87%
Overseas	; color:#000;"	12,048	; color:#000;"	64.63%	2,395	12.85%	2,732	14.66%	853	4.58%	495	2.66%	118	0.63%	10.07%
Source: [2006 Presidential election results](https://www.eleicoes.mai.gov.pt/Presidenciais2006/html/ISD23.html)

Maps

File:Pt plelection pr 2006.PNG|Strongest candidate by electoral district. (Azores and Madeira not shown) File:Presidenciais 2006 (Mapa).png|Strongest candidate by municipality.

Notes

References

"Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público.
"Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público.
"Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público.
"Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público.
"ELEIÇÕES PRESIDENCIAIS DE 2006 – BE – FRANCISCO LOUÇA". EPHEMERA.
"Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público.
(5 December 2005). "Cinco candidatos na arena televisiva". Público.
"Presidenciais 2006". [[Ministry of Internal Administration (Portugal).
(22 January 2006). "Afluência às urnas nos 45,77% às 16:00". RTP.

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