Next Portuguese legislative election

Next Portuguese legislative election

← 2015 On or before 13 October 2019
230 seats to the Assembly of the Republic 116 seats needed for a majority
Leader Pedro Passos Coelho António Costa Catarina Martins Party PSD PS BE Leader since 26 March 2010 28 September 2014 30 November 2014 Leader's seat Lisboa Lisboa Porto Last election 89 seats 86 seats, 32.3% 19 seats, 10.2% Current seats 89 86 19 Seats needed 27 30 97   Leader Assunção Cristas Jerónimo de Sousa André Silva Party CDS–PP PCP PAN Alliance CDU Leader since 13 March 2016 27 November 2004 26 October 2014 Leader's seat Leiria Lisboa Lisboa Last election 18 seats 17 seats, 8.3% 1 seats, 1.4% Current seats 18 17 1 Seats needed 98 99 115
Distribution of MP's to be elected by district.
Incumbent Prime Minister António Costa PS

António Costa
PS

The Next Portuguese legislative election will be held no later than October 2019. At stake will be all 230 seats to the Assembly of the Republic.

The President of Portugal has the power to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic by their own will. Unlike in other countries, the President can refuse to dissolve the parliament at the request of the Prime Minister or the Assembly of the Republic and all the parties represented in Parliament. If the Prime Minister resigns, the President must appoint a new Prime Minister after listening to all the parties represented in Parliament and then the government programme must be subject to discussion by the Assembly of the Republic, whose members of parliament may present a motion to reject the upcoming government.

According to the Portuguese Constitution, an election must be called between 14 September and 14 October of the year that the legislature ends. The election is called by the President of Portugal but is not called at the request of the Prime Minister; however, the President must listen to all of the parties represented in Parliament and the election day must be announced at least 60 days before the election. If an election is called during an ongoing legislature (dissolution of parliament) it must be held at least in 55 days. Election day is the same in all multi-seats constituencies, and should fall on a Sunday or national holiday. The next legislative election must, therefore, take place no later than 13 October 2019.

The Parliament of the Portuguese Republic consists of a single chamber, the Assembly of the Republic, composed of 230 members directly elected by universal adult suffrage for a maximum term of four years. Assembly members represent the entire country, rather than the constituencies in which they were elected. Governments do not require absolute majority support of the Assembly to hold office, as even if the number of opposers of government is larger than that of the supporters, the number of opposers still needs to be equal or greater than 116 (absolute majority) for both the Government's Programme to be rejected or for a motion of no confidence to be approved.