With 99.23% of the votes counted, the party Livre garnered 250,651 votes in this legislative election—an increase of 45,975 votes from 2024, amounting to 4.20%, securing a parliamentary group of six deputies, two more than previously held.
This marked the best electoral result in the history of Livre, with growth observed across the country.
Despite this, Livre did not manage to secure election wins in any new districts, obtaining mandates in the same electoral circles as in 2024: Lisbon, Porto, and Setúbal.
In Lisbon, Livre re-elected the party’s co-spokespersons, Rui Tavares and Isabel Mendes Lopes, along with Patrícia Gonçalves.
In Setúbal, Paulo Muacho was re-elected, while in Porto, Jorge Pinto was re-elected and was joined by Filipa Pinto.
Although the party achieved a record-breaking result in its history, the atmosphere at the Livre’s election night headquarters at Teatro Thalia in Lisbon was bittersweet, with supporters reacting with silence and some apprehension to the initial television projections.
While consistently avoiding setting a concrete goal, the spokesperson for Livre expressed, for the first time during the campaign on Thursday, the ambition to double the parliamentary group, aim for 300,000 votes, and surpass the Liberal Initiative (IL) to become the fourth political force in Portugal.
Failing to achieve this objective, and without directly commenting on the results, Rui Tavares thanked the over 200,000 voters who chose Livre, stating that the party was “close to electing the seventh deputy.”
“We will know how to represent you, you will be proud of us,” he assured.
Regarding the IL, Rui Tavares noted that these elections did not see them surpass the party he dubbed the “chainsaw party,” but he expressed confidence that it would happen in the next elections.
“We are not that far off, it won’t be long,” he remarked.
The spokesperson also emphasized that the next step is to deflate Chega, expressing regret over the growth of the party led by André Ventura in these legislative elections.
Regretting the victory of the Democratic Alliance (PSD/CDS-PP Coalition), Rui Tavares stated he had warned the left that it needed to present a clear governance alternative to defeat what he termed a radicalized right.
The night ended with Rui Tavares inviting deputies and supporters to join him on stage to sing “Grândola, Vila Morena” by Zeca Afonso.
Before leaving the stage, Rui Tavares shouted, “We will win. This has to change. Damn it, our country can be better.”
