Arriving at the campaign headquarters in Setúbal shortly before 1 AM on Monday, with the official vote count still pending, Maria das Dores Meira declared victory with a lead of “1,200 votes over the PS,” asserting that “it was not that close.”
“It’s a return with great strength, much enthusiasm, and with all these people waiting for this return and enthusiasm,” stated the candidate, who is returning to a municipality she led from 2006 to 2021 for the CDU (PCP/PEV). The leftist coalition governed the region for over two decades.
Earlier, the outgoing mayor of Setúbal, André Martins, who was elected by the CDU and served as vice president when Dores Meira led the leftist coalition, had already conceded defeat, failing to secure reelection.
Maria das Dores Meira emphasized the “expressive victory, after such a struggle,” with an independent campaign that faced “such a low and dark campaign.”
“Winning against all odds was fantastic,” she remarked.
When asked if support from the PSD and CDS harmed her candidacy, Maria das Dores Meira denied this, explaining, “We already had PSD and CDS people on our lists before these two parties gave us their support.”
Maria das Dores Meira assumed the presidency of the Setúbal council in 2006, replacing Carlos de Sousa, who resigned after losing the political confidence of the PCP.
Three years later, she won her first election as the CDU candidate for the council’s presidency, in October 2009, a feat she repeated twice, in September 2013 and October 2017, always achieving an absolute majority and increasing the number of elected officials and vote percentages—38.83% (2009), 41.93% (2013), and 49.95% (2017).
In the 2021 local elections, unable to run again in Setúbal due to a three-term limit, she led the CDU list in Almada but failed to reclaim the municipality from the PS, which reelected Inês de Medeiros.
In April 2024, she resigned as a councilor without roles in Almada and left the PCP. Three months later, she announced her independent candidacy for the Setúbal council, more than a year before the election date.
[Updated at 01:59]
