Luís Montenegro addressed the municipal election results at the PSD/Porto headquarters, where the party monitored the election night.
“I am left with democratic humility and a sense of gratitude to express profound recognition for the support shown in the polls,” he stated, highlighting that the PSD was “the party that received the most votes, won the most seats, elected the most parish and municipal council presidents, achieved a historic victory in the five largest municipalities in the country, and is poised to lead the ANMP,” as well as leading in the autonomous regions and in the Government.
Montenegro further emphasized that while all candidates may claim victory, the party and PSD mayors are “genuine victors indeed.” “This is a night where, on a general account, we are effectively, objectively, the great winners. I don’t know how to say it otherwise […] I don’t know what more I can say to prove the electoral victory we had,” he remarked.
The PSD president declared today that the Social Democrats have once again become “the largest party in local governance,” with more votes, more mandates, more parish and municipal council presidents, being in the position to lead the ANMP and ANAFRE.
PSD, both independently and in coalition, secured between 134 and 135 councils, according to party officials, allowing it to regain leadership of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) and the National Association of Parishes, which it lost in 2013.
Luís Montenegro began by thanking the Portuguese for their confidence entrusted in PSD, emphasizing that the party he leads “secured more votes, more mandates, elected more parish council presidents, elected more municipal council presidents, and achieved a historic victory in the five largest municipalities of the country.”
PSD, independently or in coalition, triumphed in Lisbon, Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Sintra, and Cascais.
“I invite you to look into your records for the last PSD Prime Minister who won municipal elections while in office,” he said, making an implicit reference to former Prime Minister Cavaco Silva, who won them in 1985 while serving as Prime Minister.
In the most recent local electoral victories of PSD (in 2001, 2005, and 2009), the party was in opposition.
“I won’t call it a historic result, but it is extraordinarily significant,” he commented, urging the media to perform an “objective analysis of PSD’s electoral performance” since he assumed the party leadership in 2022.
Montenegro had already noted that the Social Democrats currently lead the two autonomous regions and are also the largest party in the Assembly of the Republic.
“This imparts a great responsibility on us, the responsibility not to fail, the responsibility to transform into concrete decisions, objectives, and results the trust we have received from the people,” he stated, ensuring not to squander “the expression of a path of stability and confidence.”
The PSD leader also directed a remark at his political opponents, noting that “everyone presented themselves as winners.”
“Each one presents their angle, but objectively speaking, we were the second force with the most representation in terms of municipal council presidency, now we are the first; we were the second force with the most representation in terms of parish resident councils, now we are first. We weren’t the political force with the most votes and mandates, but now we are. I don’t know what more I can say to prove the electoral victory we had,” he stated.
Montenegro emphasized that he set the goal of reinstating PSD as the largest local party shortly after assuming leadership in 2022.
“I am well aware many regarded this as an unattainable, difficult objective due to the significant representation gap between us and PS,” he commented, referring to the 35-council difference separating the two parties in 2021.
Montenegro acknowledged PSD faced “some less pleasant surprises,” considering it “part of election night during municipal elections,” without specifying, but on a night the party lost strongholds like Viseu or Bragança, and district capitals like Coimbra and Faro.
“We had many more, I won’t call them surprises but acknowledgements of electoral victories, more than any other political force,” he considered.
