According to data from the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Administration, Portugal received 192,600 envelopes containing ballots from Portuguese citizens living abroad by Friday.
This figure represents 12.2% of the 1,578,890 voters registered for the upcoming Sunday elections, slightly lower than the 12.95% recorded during the same period of the 2024 elections.
Most of the envelopes containing votes from Portuguese citizens residing abroad, now in Portugal, originated from Europe (85.73%), followed by the Americas (11.56%), Asia and Oceania (2.08%), and Africa (0.63%).
The dispatch of the envelopes commenced on April 12 to 192 destinations, with the last batch sent on April 21. Of these, 77,509 envelopes were returned.
In addition to postal voting, 5,832 voters have registered to vote in person: 845 in Europe, 1,375 in Africa, 3,001 in the Americas, and 611 in Asia and Oceania.
The votes of Portuguese citizens living abroad will continue to arrive in Portugal, with the counting scheduled for May 28, the tenth day after Sunday’s election.
The results, likely to be announced on the same day, are expected to resolve the tie between the Socialist Party (PS) and Chega, who are vying for second place in the legislative elections—won by the AD Coalition (PSD-CDS)—each securing 58 seats.
Over the last 20 years, PS and PSD have divided mandates between Europe and outside Europe. However, this bipartisan trend ended in 2024, when Chega elected a deputy for each of these two constituencies.
In the recent Sunday elections, a total of 36 candidacies competed across the two constituencies, with 18 for each.
