1976 Portuguese presidential election
27 June 1976
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| Turnout | 75.47% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 27 June 1976.
With a broad base of support that comprised the center-left and the center-right, Ramalho Eanes won the election on the first round and became the first elected President of Portugal after the Carnation Revolution.
The Portuguese Communist Party presented its own candidate, Octávio Pato, a well known anti-fascist. Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, a key figure during the Carnation Revolution in 1974, was also a candidate. Eanes was sworn in as President on 14 July 1976.[1]
Electoral system
Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it was necessary to gather between 7500 and 15000 signatures and submit them to the Supreme Court of Justice.[2]
According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a majority of votes. If no candidate gets this majority there will take place a second round between the two most voted candidates.[3]
Candidates
Official candidates
- António Ramalho Eanes, Military officer, Main leader against the Coup of 25 November 1975, former chairman of RTP, supported by the Socialist Party, Democratic People's Party, Democratic and Social Centre and the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party;
- José Pinheiro de Azevedo, Navy officer, Prime Minister between 1975 and 1976, Independent candidate;
- Octávio Pato, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party;
- Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Military officer, Independent candidate supported by the Popular Democratic Union, Movement of Socialist Left, People's Socialist Front and the Revolutionary Party of the Proletariat – Revolutionary Brigades;
Unsuccessful candidacies
There was also one candidate rejected by the Portuguese Constitutional Court for not complying with the legal requirements:
- Venceslau Pompílio da Cruz;
Campaign period
Party slogans
| Candidate | Original slogan | English translation | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| António Ramalho Eanes | « Muitos prometem... Eanes cumpre » « Candidato de Portugal » |
"Many promise ... Eanes delivers" "Portugal's Candidate" |
[4] | |
| Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho | « O 25 de Abril à Presidência » | "April 25 to the Presidency" | [4] | |
| José Pinheiro de Azevedo | « Vota Pinheiro de Azevedo » | "Vote Pinheiro de Azevedo" | [4] | |
| Octávio Pato | « Pela democracia e o socialismo » | "For democracy and socialism" | [4] | |
Candidates' debates
| 1976 Portuguese presidential election debates | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | |||||||||||||||||
| Eanes | Otelo | Azevedo | Pato | Refs | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 Jun 1976 | RTP1 | Joaquim Letria | P | P | P | P | [5][6][7] | |||||||||||||
Opinion polls
| Polling firm | Date released | Sample size |
Oth | Lead | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ind. | Ind. | Ind. | PCP | |||||
| Election results | 26 Jun 1976 | N/a | 61.6 | 16.5 | 14.4 | 7.6 | —
|
45.1 |
| Expresso[a] | 9 Jun 1976 | N/a | 53.2 | 17.7 | 22.6 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 30.6 |
Results
National summary
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| António Ramalho Eanes | Independent[b] | 2,967,137 | 61.59 | |
| Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho | Independent[c] | 792,760 | 16.46 | |
| José Pinheiro de Azevedo | Independent | 692,147 | 14.37 | |
| Octávio Pato | Portuguese Communist Party | 365,586 | 7.59 | |
| Total | 4,817,630 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 4,817,630 | 98.70 | ||
| Invalid votes | 20,253 | 0.41 | ||
| Blank votes | 43,242 | 0.89 | ||
| Total votes | 4,881,125 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,467,480 | 75.47 | ||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições | ||||
Results by district
| District | Eanes | Otelo | Azevedo | Pato | Turnout | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Aveiro | 217,589 | 74.47% | 20,634 | 6.97% | 46,346 | 15.86% | 7,866 | 2.69% | 77.38% | |
| Azores | 30,646 | 86.06% | 9,510 | 9.01% | 17,076 | 16.18% | 2,562 | 2.43% | 71.13% | |
| Beja | 36,219 | 34.59% | 34,339 | 32.80% | 7,296 | 6.97% | 26,844 | 25.64% | 74.37% | |
| Braga | 218,459 | 70.20% | 25,089 | 8.06% | 59,093 | 18.99% | 8,550 | 2.75% | 82.34% | |
| Bragança | 67,593 | 82.59% | 2,725 | 3.33% | 9,357 | 11.43% | 2,167 | 2.65% | 68.71% | |
| Castelo Branco | 98,828 | 76.25% | 14,393 | 11.33% | 10,927 | 8.61% | 4,833 | 3.81% | 73.66% | |
| Coimbra | 147,906 | 71.93% | 19,801 | 9.63% | 29,038 | 14.12% | 8,887 | 4.32% | 67.51% | |
| Évora | 39,847 | 36.03% | 38,509 | 34.82% | 10,500 | 9.50% | 21,726 | 19.65% | 81.28% | |
| Faro | 87,590 | 52.88% | 41,018 | 24.76% | 24,331 | 14.69% | 12,698 | 7.67% | 70.81% | |
| Guarda | 88,451 | 82.87% | 4,528 | 4.24% | 11,194 | 10.49% | 2,558 | 2.40% | 72.64% | |
| Leiria | 156,404 | 76.63% | 18,682 | 9.15% | 20,109 | 9.85% | 8,915 | 4.37% | 73.26% | |
| Lisbon | 582,103 | 53.55% | 259,915 | 23.91% | 132,600 | 12.20% | 112,395 | 10.34% | 75.93% | |
| Madeira | 76,417 | 72.39% | 9,510 | 9.01% | 17,076 | 16.18% | 2,562 | 2.43% | 74.81% | |
| Portalegre | 47,665 | 56.12% | 14,122 | 16.63% | 10,893 | 12.82% | 12,258 | 14.43% | 78.24% | |
| Porto | 450,236 | 60.43% | 86,356 | 11.59% | 169,940 | 22.81% | 38,548 | 5.17% | 80.76% | |
| Santarém | 141,397 | 58.68% | 48,370 | 20.07% | 31,564 | 13.10% | 19,634 | 8.15% | 73.53% | |
| Setúbal | 96,739 | 29.87% | 135,495 | 41.83% | 31,166 | 9.62% | 60,519 | 18.68% | 77.78% | |
| Viana do Castelo | 87,136 | 74.64% | 8,075 | 6.92% | 17,174 | 14.71% | 4,362 | 3.74% | 72.36% | |
| Vila Real | 91,261 | 81.59% | 4,552 | 4.07% | 12,604 | 11.27% | 3,433 | 3.07% | 67.59% | |
| Viseu | 155,520 | 81.19% | 7,447 | 3.90% | 25,071 | 13.09% | 3,490 | 1.82% | 69.81% | |
| Source: SGMAI Presidential Election Results | ||||||||||
Maps
-
Strongest candidate by electoral district.
-
Strongest candidate by municipality: Eanes - magenta; Otelo - dark red; Octávio Pato - red.
Notes
- ^ Results presented here exclude undecideds (27%), did not respond (10%) and vote none (1%). With their inclusion results are: António Ramalho Eanes: 33%; Pinheiro de Azevedo: 14%; Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho: 11%; Octávio Pato: 3%; Venceslau Pompílio da Cruz: 1%.
- ^ Supported by the Socialist Party, the Democratic People's Party, the Democratic Social Center and the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party.
- ^ Supported by the Popular Democratic Union, the Movement of Socialist Left, the People's Socialist Front and the Revolutionary Party of the Proletariat – Revolutionary Brigades.
References
- ^ "Tomada de posse de António Ramalho Eanes". RTP Arquivos (in European Portuguese). 1976-07-14. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
- ^ ""Quadro cronológico das operações eleitorais"" (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições (in Portuguese). 3 May 1976. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ ""Decreto-Lei n.º 319-A/76, de 3 de maio"". Diário da República (in Portuguese). 3 May 1976. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Confronto: 4 Candidatos para Belém – Parte I". RTP (in Portuguese). 9 June 1976. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Confronto: 4 Candidatos para Belém – Parte II". RTP (in Portuguese). 9 June 1976. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Confronto: 4 Candidatos para Belém – Parte III". RTP (in Portuguese). 9 June 1976. Retrieved 26 May 2020.