João Rocha, a prominent figure in local politics, was first elected as the communist mayor of Serpa (Beja district) in 1979, during the second municipal elections following the April revolution. His long-standing political career has made him a notable veteran still active today.
He led the Alentejo municipality until 2013, when a law came into effect limiting a mayor to three consecutive terms in the same municipality. Rocha then ran for Beja, where he claimed leadership from the Socialist Party (PS).
After losing the municipal elections in 2017, Rocha is set to contest once again for the position of mayor in Serpa this year, representing the CDU (PCP/PEV coalition).
More than 30 former mayors nationwide are re-entering the political scene, mostly aiming to regain control over municipalities they have previously governed.
Maria das Dores Meira seeks to return as an independent, with support from the PSD, to the City Hall of Setúbal, where she previously served as mayor (2009-2021) under the CDU.
Hélder Sousa e Silva (PSD), who left the Mafra municipality (Lisbon district) after being elected as a Member of the European Parliament, is now running for Almada (Setúbal district). Meanwhile, the former communist mayor of Alcochete (2005-2017), Luís Franco, is campaigning in Montijo (Setúbal district).
Former Estremoz (Évora district) mayor Luís Mourinha has submitted his candidacy to lead the municipality once more, having previously served 12 years with the CDU and another decade under the Independent Movement for Estremoz (MIETZ), the latter of which he represents again.
In Mora (Évora district), Luís Simão is attempting to reclaim the city council lost by the CDU to the PS in 2021, when he could no longer run due to term limits.
Manuel Condenado (CDU) served as the mayor of Vila Viçosa from 1997 to 2009, and from 2013 to 2021, and is endeavoring to regain control of the council lost in recent elections.
In Portalegre district, former Avis mayor Manuel Coelho (2000-2013) returns, aiming to keep the CDU, which has held power since 1976, in leadership. Meanwhile, the socialist Nuno Mocinha is re-entering the race in Elvas to regain the municipality he led between 2013 and 2021, now managed by a seasoned local politician, former socialist and current independent Rondão Almeida.
Miguel Rasquinho (PS), who served as mayor from 2009 to 2013, is running in Monforte, also in Portalegre district. In Campo Maior, João Muacho, who governed the city as a socialist from 2019 to 2021 without elections, is now standing with the “Sim Por Campo Maior” citizens’ group.
The PS has nominated Francisco Orelha as their candidate in Cuba (Beja), a veteran who previously led the local council from 1997 to 2013.
Former PS mayor Nelson Brito (2013-2021) seeks to return to Aljustrel, while the previous communist head of Mértola, Paulo Neto (1993-2001), also plans a comeback. Meanwhile, António Sebastião, a longtime mayor of Almodôvar, is now running for Castro Verde under the PSD/CDS-PP banner.
In the North, Luís Filipe Menezes, a former PSD president, is campaigning in Vila Nova de Gaia (Porto district), a city he led four times (1997, 2001, 2005, and 2009) with outright majorities.
The PS has appointed Vassalo Abreu as their leading candidate in Ponte da Barca (Viana do Castelo), where he governed from 2005 to 2017.
Alberto Souto is the socialist candidate for Aveiro, having previously led the municipal executive from 1998 to 2005. In the same district, Rui Cruz (PSD) is re-running for Vagos, where he served as mayor from 2001 to 2013.
João Marques, the former PSD mayor of Pedrógão Grande (Leiria), renews his candidacy, having completed four terms as mayor from 1997 to 2013.
In Santarém district, the communist Mário Fernando Pereira of Alpiarça, who served from 2009 to 2021, is poised to return alongside Dionísio Mendes of Coruche, who, after representing the PS from 2001 to 2013, has switched allegiances to the “Volta Coruche” movement.
António Ruas, previously a socialist mayor (2001-2013), is running in Pinhel (Guarda) with the independent coalition “UPP — Unidos por Pinhel,” supported by the PS.
Several candidates are also vying in Coimbra district: Rui Silva (PS), who governed Arganil between 1997 and 2005; António Alves, a social-democrat who led Penela from 2011 to 2013; and João Gouveia, a former Soure mayor elected under PSD from 1993-2005 and later with PS in 2005 and 2009.
José António Santos is pursuing the Lamego (Viseu district) mayorship for the PS, following his leadership from 1997 to 2005, while in Vila Nova de Paiva, José Morgado, a three-term socialist mayor (2009-2021), is contesting under the PSD.
In Mogadouro (Bragança), Francisco Guimarães, the socialist mayor elected in 2017, is a candidate once again.
Rui Marques Luís (PSD), former mayor of Ponta do Sol (Madeira), elected in 2005, 2009, and 2013, is once more the PSD’s leading candidate for the local council.
Nuno Cardoso, a former mayor of Porto who served from 1999 to late 2021 succeeding Fernando Gomes (PS), is running again, this time under the coalition “Nós Cidadãos/PPM.”
João Azevedo, previously mayor of Mangualde (Viseu) from 2009 to 2019 before resigning to become an MP, reiterates his PS candidacy for Viseu’s city council, while António Alves (PSD), a former councilor and mayor of Penela (2011-2013), is again seeking office.
José Augusto Alves, acting mayor of Castelo Branco from 2020 to 2021, is standing for election with the coalition “Sempre Por Todos” (PSD/CDS-PP, supported by the “Sempre” Independent Movement).
The municipal elections are to be held on October 12.
