1991 Portuguese presidential election

1991 Portuguese presidential election

← 1986 13 January 1991 1996 →
Turnout	62.16% ( 13.23pp)
Candidate Mário Soares Basílio Horta Carlos Carvalhas Party PS CDS PCP[a] Popular vote 3,459,521 696,379 635,373 Percentage 70.35% 14.16% 12.92%
Results by district Results by municipality Soares   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90% Carvalhas   40-50%   50-60%
President before election Mário Soares PS Elected President Mário Soares PS

Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 13 January 1991.

The re-election of the hugely popular Mário Soares was never in doubt, specially after the then-ruling PSD, led by Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva announced its support. Therefore, the election held on 13 January 1991 was a landslide, and no second round was needed.

As the election of a left-wing candidate was assured, other left-wing parties, the

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.

• Mário Soares, Incumbent President since 1986 and eligible for a second term, supported by the Socialist Party, and tacitly by the Social Democratic Party;
• Democratic and Social Centre
  ;
• Carlos Carvalhas, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party and Ecologist Party "The Greens";
• People's Democratic Union
  ;

Decided not to run

• Democratic and Social Centre (1983-1986);^[1]

Campaign period

Party slogans

Candidate		Original slogan	English translation	Refs
	Mário Soares	« Soares é fixe »	"Soares is cool"	[2]
	Basílio Horta	« Um Homem às direitas »	"An upright man"	[3]
	Carlos Carvalhas	« Portugal pode ser melhor »	"Portugal can be better"	[4]
	Carlos Manuel Marques	« A coragem de ser solidário »	"The courage to be supportive"	[5]

Candidates' debates

1991 Portuguese presidential election debates
Date	Organisers	Moderator(s)	P  Present    A  Absent invitee  N  Non-invitee
			Soares	Horta	Carvalhas	Marques	Refs
21 Nov 1990	RTP1	Maria Elisa Domingues	P	A	P	P	[6]
4 Dec 1990	RTP1	-	N	N	P	P	[7]
6 Dec 1990	RTP1	Mário Crespo	P	P	N	N	[8]
11 Dec 1990	RTP1	-	P	N	P	N	[9]
13 Dec 1990	RTP1	-	N	P	N	P	[10]
19 Dec 1990	RTP1	-	P	N	N	P	[11]
20 Dec 1990	RTP1	-	N	P	P	N	[12]
21 Dec 1990	RTP2	Joaquim Furtado	P	P	P	P	[13]

Opinion polls

  Exit poll

Polling firm	Date released	Sample size					Lead
			Soares PS	CDS	Carvalhas PCP	Marques UDP
Election results	13 Jan 1991	—	70.4	14.2	12.9	2.6	56.2
Euroexpansão/RTP	13 Jan 1991	—	69.5–73.4	14.1–17.2	9.3–12.6	1.6–2.9	55.8

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Mário Soares	Socialist Party	3,459,521	70.35
	Basílio Horta	Democratic and Social Centre	696,379	14.16
	Carlos Carvalhas	Portuguese Communist Party–The Greens	635,373	12.92
	Carlos Manuel Marques [pt]	Popular Democratic Union	126,581	2.57
Total			4,917,854	100.00
Valid votes			4,917,854	96.45
Invalid votes			68,037	1.33
Blank votes			112,877	2.21
Total votes			5,098,768	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			8,202,212	62.16
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Results by district

District		Soares		Horta		Carvalhas		Marques		Turnout
		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Aveiro	250,336	77.27%	49,675	15.33%	17,894	5.52%	6,065	1.87%	64.36%
	Azores	75,530	80.66%	12,192	13.02%	3,652	3.49%	6,685	6.39%	51.79%
	Beja	48,694	54.06%	5,293	5.88%	33,796	37.52%	2,294	2.55%	60.34%
	Braga	287,287	77.49%	50,991	13.75%	26,230	7.08%	6,210	1.68%	66.41%
	Bragança	51,571	67.48%	19,373	25.35%	3,869	5.06%	1,615	2.11%	53.18%
	Castelo Branco	82,470	71.63%	18,627	16.18%	10,593	9.20%	3,443	2.99%	60.29%
	Coimbra	166,041	76.86%	26,416	12.23%	19,084	8.83%	4,498	2.08%	61.08%
	Évora	50,805	53.99%	7,710	8.19%	33,313	35.40%	2,281	2.42%	64.94%
	Faro	123,550	72.40%	21,332	12.50%	20,481	12.00%	5,280	3.09%	60.92%
	Guarda	69,632	71.33%	19,874	20.36%	5,815	5.96%	2,293	2.35%	58.23%
	Leiria	150,993	72.41%	38,014	18.23%	14,969	7.18%	4,535	2.17%	60.93%
	Lisbon	675,760	64.89%	156,424	15.02%	177,275	17.02%	31,860	3.06%	61.73%
	Madeira	70,632	67.22%	23,981	22.91%	3,652	3.49%	6,685	6.39%	57.98%
	Portalegre	48,170	64.25%	7,693	10.26%	17,271	23.03%	1,844	2.46%	66.26%
	Porto	627,195	76.50%	101,665	12.40%	75,517	9.21%	15,536	1.89%	65.39%
	Santarém	161,301	68.96%	30,938	13.23%	34,996	14.96%	6,662	2.85%	63.33%
	Setúbal	198,977	55.83%	29,955	8.40%	113,232	31.77%	14,248	4.00%	62.93%
	Viana do Castelo	92,312	75.26%	18,397	15.00%	9,263	7.55%	2,693	2.20%	59.35%
	Vila Real	84,358	75.05%	20,139	17.92%	5,738	5.10%	2,174	1.93%	54.63%
	Viseu	145,010	75.41%	33,945	17.65%	9,869	5.13%	3,480	1.81%	57.96%
Source: SGMAI Presidential Election Results

Maps

• 
  Strongest candidate by electoral district.
• 
  Strongest candidate by municipality.

Notes

1. ^ Supported also by the Ecologist Party "The Greens" (PEV).

References

1. ^ "Lucas Pires anuncia desistência da candidatura à Presidência". RTP (in Portuguese). 7 September 1990. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
2. ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
3. ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
4. ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
5. ^ "Candidatura de Carlos Marques à Presidência da República". RTP (in Portuguese). 6 May 1990. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
6. ^ "Debate entre os candidatos à Presidência da República". RTP (in Portuguese). 21 November 1990. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
7. ^ "Página Principal".
8. ^ "Os debates".
9. ^ "Página Principal".
10. ^ "Página Principal".
11. ^ "Página Principal".
12. ^ "Página Principal".
13. ^ "Página Principal".

• "CNE Resultados". Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Archived from the original on 8 April 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2005.
• "Centro de Estudos do Pensamento Político". Archived from the original on 2006-08-18. Retrieved 17 May 2005.

External links

• Portuguese Electoral Commission
• 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