The Sunday elections saw the PSD, either independently or in coalitions, claiming victory in 136 municipalities compared to the PS’s 128. This marks a significant improvement from 2021, where the PSD won in 114 municipalities against the PS’s 149.
In the ten largest population centers, the social-democratic-led coalitions seized the municipalities of Gaia and Sintra from the PS, retained Lisbon, Braga, and Cascais, and reclaimed Porto, a municipality they lost in 2013 to Rui Moreira’s independent movement.
Politically notable achievements for the PSD include winning the Beja, Guimarães—a long-standing socialist stronghold—and Espinho, the city of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. The party also supported the winning list in Setúbal.
“I won’t call it a historic result, but it is extraordinarily significant,” stated the PSD president in Porto at the end of the election night.
Despite losing the presidency of the ANMP, the PS maintains significant local power, holding municipalities in every district of the country and in the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores.
Unlike the legislative elections in May, where it came third in mandates behind the AD (PSD/CDS coalition) and Chega, the PS is now just eight municipalities behind the social democrats and well ahead of other political forces.
On election night, the socialists surprised by winning Viseu and Bragança, two traditionally PSD-dominated district capitals, and managed to take Faro and Coimbra from the social democrats. They also wrested the municipality of Évora from the CDU.
By the end of Sunday night, PS Secretary-General José Luís Carneiro remarked that the party did not experience its worst electoral expectations.
“The PS has returned as a major alternative political party to the Government. The PS showed vitality and the Portuguese once again placed their trust in the PS,” José Luís Carneiro declared.
The Sunday election results also indicated that at the local level, the traditional bipolarization between PSD and PS remained, with these parties contesting the majority of municipalities against each other, countering the recent trend towards tripartisanship (PSD/Chega/PS) seen in May’s legislative elections.
In the May legislative elections, the AD won again with a relative majority, and Chega finished second in mandates (60 out of 230), two more than the PS. In these local elections, Chega won only in São Vicente (Madeira), Albufeira (Algarve), and Entroncamento (Santarém district), managing slightly over 600,000 votes compared to 1.4 million in the May legislative elections.
Responding to the results, André Ventura admitted not meeting his goals but argued that Chega is still a young party.
“I always said there are no power parties without being local parties. We’ve taken that first step but are still far from the objectives we set for ourselves,” he stated.
The CDU continued to decline in national local power, reducing from 19 municipalities in 2021 to 12. It lost the district capitals of Évora and Setúbal. Of the 19 municipalities the CDU captured in 2021, it retained only eight (Barrancos, Cuba, Arraiolos, Silves, Avis, Palmela, Seixal, and Sesimbra).
Mora, Montemor-o-Novo, Aljustrel, and Sines were now taken from the PS. Mora and Montemor-o-Novo were regained by the CDU after losing them to the PS in 2021.
PCP Secretary-General Paulo Raimundo acknowledged the party’s overall negative result, where losses outweighed some successes.
The CDS retained its six municipalities, with its president, Nuno Melo, highlighting the case of one municipality led by a Christian Democrat, though on a list with the PSD—a reference to the municipality of Meda in the Guarda district.
