In the latest municipal elections in 2021, the CDU ran in 305 municipalities — with only three exceptions in the Azores autonomous region — and secured 19 town halls, marking the coalition’s lowest number since its peak in 1982 when it governed 55 municipalities.
Compared to 2017, the CDU lost five councils, including Loures and southern strongholds such as Mora, Montemor-o-Novo, and Moita, which it had governed since 1976.
Four years later, the CDU aims to contest all 308 municipalities nationwide within the framework of the coalition comprising the PCP and PEV, aiming to “confirm, consolidate, and strengthen” the number of councils it currently holds, according to Jorge Cordeiro, a member of the PCP’s Political Committee and Central Committee Secretariat.
“We haven’t set any specific numbers. Our goal is not only to consolidate our existing positions but to expand them to other municipalities,” he stated, expressing confidence that the public will “recognize the difference and advantage of having a CDU municipal management.”
An official source from the coalition detailed that most candidacies were submitted to the courts by last Thursday, with the remaining ones expected to be delivered on Monday.
The CDU aims to reclaim councils lost in 2021, such as Loures or Moita, both taken by the PS by narrow margins of about two thousand votes, with the same number of councilors as the Socialists.
However, the CDU faces particular challenges in at least 12 of the 19 municipalities it currently controls, notably in Setúbal, which the CDU has governed since 2001 and where this year, it faces competition from a former party member.
Maria das Dores Meira, who presided over Setúbal City Council from 2009 to 2021 as a CDU candidate, announced her resignation from PCP and launched an independent candidacy for the council, supported by the PSD, potentially splitting the coalition’s electorate, which is re-fielding André Martins, the incumbent president since 2021.
Additionally, in 11 of the 19 CDU-governed councils, the presidents cannot seek re-election due to the three consecutive term limit.
This includes Carlos Pinto Sá, who has led Évora City Council since 2013 and will be replaced as head of the CDU list by PCP MEP João Oliveira, along with leaders in Palmela, Benavente, Grândola, and Silves.
Jorge Cordeiro emphasized the “intervention role and weight” each mayor holds in their municipalities but noted that the CDU has previously faced elections where it had to change more lead candidates than this year, emerging stronger.
This was the case in 2013, for example, when the CDU governed 28 councils and had to replace candidates in 12 municipalities due to term limits. Despite this change, the coalition eventually increased its number of councils, securing 34.
Another potential challenge for the CDU is the electoral growth of Chega, which in the last legislative elections became the first or second political force in locations currently governed by the CDU, such as Palmela, Serpa, or Silves.
Jorge Cordeiro remarked that “there is nothing from Chega’s municipal track record that legitimizes the idea they can constitute an alternative,” dismissing any potential threat they may pose to the CDU.
“As long as elections remain particularly focused on their local nature and character, this idea is more limited. We are neither constrained nor determined by it,” he assured.
