The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa—who appoints the prime minister and government members—stated during the electoral campaign that he intends to find “the best or least bad solution for governance” and desires to appoint a government with the assurance that its program will be approved in parliament.
According to the Constitution, a government assumes full powers only after its program is reviewed by parliament and not rejected, which must occur within ten days after the executive is sworn in.
There are no legal deadlines for the government to be sworn in or proposed by the prime minister-designate to the President of the Republic. However, historically, governments have typically assumed full authority slightly more than a month following legislative elections.
In 2019, the legislative elections were held on October 6, with the Socialist Party (PS) winning 36.35% of the votes, equivalent to 108 deputies.
Fewer than ten days post-elections, on October 15, António Costa presented his cabinet to the President of the Republic. By October 26, just 20 days after the elections, the XXII Constitutional Government took office. On the same day, it approved and sent its program to parliament, fully assuming functions by October 31.
In 2024, following the early elections on March 10, the XXIV Constitutional Government, led by Luís Montenegro, was sworn in on April 2 and gained full powers on April 12 (33 days after the election) after parliamentary review of its program.
However, the previous executive resulting from the 2022 elections, led by António Costa, only assumed full powers on April 8—68 days after the January 30 elections.
The post-electoral process that year was notably the longest in the 21st century due to the repetition of elections in the Europe constituency, mandated by the Constitutional Court after valid and null votes were mixed. This process took nearly three times longer than in 2019, when the executive assumed full powers just 25 days after the elections.
During the political transitions in 2024, 2022, and 2019, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa consulted with all parties represented in parliament two days after the legislative elections.
In 2019, after the consultations, he designated the secretary-general of the PS, António Costa, as prime minister. In 2022, he announced his intention to designate the socialist leader, waiting for results from the emigrant constituencies before formalization.
In 2024, he again designated the leader of the most voted list, Luís Montenegro, as prime minister after listening to all parties.
The most recent legislature commenced on March 26, three days following the publication of the official election results. The XXIV Constitutional Government was sworn in on April 2, 23 days after the legislative elections, with AD securing victory with 28.83% of the votes and 80 deputies.
