The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has announced the scheduling of the presidential elections for January 18, a decision he had previously endorsed.
In accordance with the Constitution and the Electoral Law, the President signed the Decree setting the presidential elections for Sunday, January 18, 2026, as noted in a statement published on Thursday on the Presidential website.
In recent months, the head of state indicated that the Presidential elections should take place on this date. In June, he refused to comment on the candidacies, stating, “I will not comment from now until the election, which is in January, hopefully on January 18, as I have not even set the date yet.”
These declarations followed earlier suggestions in January this year when Marcelo mentioned January 25 for the vote. However, it is now official: Portuguese citizens will head to the polls on January 18.
This decision avoids overlapping the deadline for candidacy submissions with Christmas and ensures that any potential second round does not coincide with Carnival Sunday.
With the presidential elections set for January 18, a potential second round, required by law three weeks later, would take place on February 8 – avoiding February 15, which is Carnival Sunday.
What’s next? What’s the schedule?
This week, the schedule for the Presidential debates was released, to be broadcast by RTP, SIC, and TVI. The first debate occurs on November 17, featuring André Ventura and António José Seguro, while Henrique Gouveia and Melo and Luís Marques Mendes conclude the series of 28 debates on December 22.
In total, there will be 28 debates involving eight presidential candidates: André Ventura, António Filipe, António José Seguro, Catarina Martins, Henrique Gouveia and Melo, João Cotrim de Figueiredo, Jorge Pinto, and Luís Marques Mendes.
RTP will air 12 debates, SIC eight, and TVI another eight, all on free-to-air channels, aiming to reach a broader audience during prime time (9 PM).
Due to numerous football matches, there are days without debates, contributing to their extension until close to Christmas.
“The three FTA [free-to-air] channels proposed 28 prime-time face-to-face debates to the presidential candidates. This represents a significant investment in television by generalist channels,” state RTP, SIC, and TVI.
“Therefore, we consider that holding other debates during the same period is unreasonable as it would divert viewers’ attention, harm the efforts of the three FTA channels, and, secondly, confuse voters since it would attract significantly smaller audiences,” they conclude.
See the complete schedule below:
- November 17: André Ventura vs. António José Seguro (TVI)
- November 18: Luís Marques Mendes vs. António Filipe (SIC)
- November 20: Henrique Gouveia and Melo vs. João Cotrim de Figueiredo (RTP)
- November 23: Catarina Martins vs. Henrique Gouveia and Melo (SIC)
- November 24: João Cotrim de Figueiredo vs. Jorge Pinto (RTP)
- November 25: Luís Marques Mendes vs. André Ventura (SIC)
- November 26: Jorge Pinto vs. Henrique Gouveia and Melo (TVI)
- November 27: António José Seguro vs. João Cotrim de Figueiredo (RTP)
- November 28: André Ventura vs. Catarina Martins (TVI)
- November 29: Luís Marques Mendes vs. Jorge Pinto (RTP)
- November 30: João Cotrim de Figueiredo vs. António Filipe (SIC)
- December 1: António José Seguro vs. Jorge Pinto (RTP)
- December 2: António Filipe vs. Henrique Gouveia and Melo (TVI)
- December 3: António José Seguro vs. Luís Marques Mendes (RTP)
- December 4: Catarina Martins vs. João Cotrim de Figueiredo (TVI)
- December 6: António José Seguro vs. Catarina Martins (SIC)
- December 7: João Cotrim de Figueiredo vs. Luís Marques Mendes (TVI)
- December 8: António Filipe vs. Jorge Pinto (RTP)
- December 9: Henrique Gouveia and Melo vs. António José Seguro (SIC)
- December 10: Catarina Martins vs. António Filipe (RTP)
- December 11: André Ventura vs. Jorge Pinto (SIC)
- December 12: Luís Marques Mendes vs. Catarina Martins (RTP)
- December 13: André Ventura vs. António Filipe (RTP)
- December 15: Henrique Gouveia and Melo vs. André Ventura (RTP)
- December 19: João Cotrim de Figueiredo vs. André Ventura (SIC)
- December 20: António José Seguro vs. António Filipe (TVI)
- December 21: Catarina Martins vs. Jorge Pinto (RTP)
- December 22: Henrique Gouveia and Melo vs. Luís Marques Mendes (TVI)
[News updated at 09:49]
