The municipal elections set for October 12 mark José Luís Carneiro’s debut as the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS) in an electoral context. Carneiro, a former minister, assumed the leadership of the PS following a significant defeat in the early legislative elections in May, which prompted Pedro Nuno Santos’s departure.
In details shared with the agency, Luís Soares, the chief of staff for Carneiro and in charge of the campaign schedule, outlined the PS’s itinerary for the elections. Starting today until the campaign officially begins on Tuesday, the PS will traverse 15 districts and the two autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores as part of their campaign trail.
During this period, José Luís Carneiro is expected to be present with socialist candidates in districts such as Lisbon, Porto, Setúbal, Braga, Aveiro, Santarém, Coimbra, Viseu, Leiria, Évora, Beja, Portalegre, Faro, Vila Real, and Bragança.
Excluded from this period are Viana do Castelo, Guarda, and Castelo Branco. Carneiro has already toured these districts recently, having visited over a hundred municipalities while introducing PS’s municipal candidates.
According to Soares, the campaign has been crafted to emphasize the 12 municipal commitments made by candidates at the party’s recent convention.
The campaign strategy, as explained, centers on engaging with topics that concern the public, such as health, housing, and mobility, identifying issues, and proposing solutions.
The agenda doesn’t overlook key areas targeted for victories, such as the municipalities of Lisbon and Porto, and other district capitals where PS currently maintains limited leadership, including Coimbra, Aveiro, Faro, or Braga.
For José Luís Carneiro’s inaugural campaign as Secretary-General, the socialist leader’s agenda is shaped by Carneiro’s willingness to visit as many locations as possible and his “capacity to listen.”
The PS’s campaign tour emphasizes “proximity and involvement with local structures,” Soares noted.
Despite the recent negative electoral outcomes, the PS aims for substantial mobilization of structures and supporters without deploying a major campaign entourage accompanying Carneiro daily.
Luís Soares stated, “The PS is very mobilized in the municipal elections.”
The official campaign’s first day, Tuesday, will commence in the Algarve, after Carneiro fulfills his duties as a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic on the preceding and the same day.
The campaign will feature various activities, including train trips, market visits, hospital and factory tours, lunches at prominent locations, traditional rallies, and interactions with the public, as well as breakfast with candidates.
The campaign’s final day, coinciding with the presentation of the State Budget proposal for 2026, will include the traditional Chiado walk and conclude in Porto district.
According to party data, in these elections, the PS will contest in 306 of the 308 municipalities, abstaining only in Vizela and Santana, predominantly running solo lists.
Exceptions to their solo campaigns include 13 coalition-led municipal councils—examples being Lisbon, Sintra, Braga, and Coimbra—and their backing for eight groups of citizen voters.
During the last municipal elections in 2021, the PS, then led by António Costa and in government, won the elections, capturing 149 municipal councils (one in coalition with Livre), 1,285 parish council presidencies, and 163 municipal assembly leaderships.
