2001 Portuguese presidential election
14 January 2001
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| Turnout | 49.71% ( 16.58pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 14 January 2001.
The victory of incumbent president Jorge Sampaio was never in doubt and the turnout was therefore quite low (49.71 percent). Again, the incumbent president was re-elected, like what happened with Mário Soares and Ramalho Eanes.
As the re-election of the left-wing president was almost certain, both the Portuguese Communist Party and the Left Bloc, the latter for its first time, presented their own candidates, as their support against the right-wing candidate was not necessary. The Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers also presented its own candidate for the first time in its history, Garcia Pereira.
On the right, Ferreira do Amaral was supported by the two major parties, the Social Democratic Party and the People's Party which, again, could not achieve their old objective of electing a right-wing president for the first time since the Carnation Revolution. Jorge Sampaio was sworn in for a second term as President on 9 March 2001.[1]
Electoral system
Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it is necessary to gather between 7,500 and 15,000 signatures and submit them to the Portuguese Constitutional Court.
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.
Candidates
Official candidates
Candidates who formalized their candidacy and submitted enough signatures to the Constitutional Court that were accepted. Candidates are ordered by their vote share.
| Candidate | Party support | Political office(s) | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jorge Sampaio (61) | President of the Republic (1996–2006) Mayor of Lisbon (1989–1995) Secretary-general of the Socialist Party (1989–1992) Member of the Assembly of the Republic (1976–1983; 1985–1995) |
Incumbent president after winning the 1996 presidential election with 53.9% of the votes; eligible for a second term. | ||
| Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral (55) | Member of the Assembly of the Republic (1995–2009) Minister of Public Works (1990–1995) Minister of Commerce and Tourism (1984–1985; 1987–1990) Secretary of State for Tourism (1983–1984) Secretary of State for European Integration (1981) Secretary of State for Industries (1979–1980) |
Social Democratic Party (PSD) member; engineer. | ||
| António Abreu (53) | City Councillor in Lisbon (1993–2001) | Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) member since 1969; engineer. | ||
| Fernando Rosas (54) | None | Left Bloc (BE) founding member; journalist and historian. | ||
| António Garcia Pereira (49) | Secretary-general of the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party (1982–2015) | Portuguese Workers' Communist Party (PCTP/MRPP) member; lawyer. | ||
Unsuccessful candidacies
There were also four candidates rejected by the Portuguese Constitutional Court for not complying with the legal requirement of being proposed by 7500 voters:
- Pedro Maria Braga;
- Maria Teresa Lameiro;
- Josué Rodrigues Pedro;
- Manuel João Vieira;
These four candidates were present in the draw of the ballot position, but did not appear in the final ballot.
Declined
- Aníbal Cavaco Silva – former Prime Minister (1985–1995); presidential candidate in the previous election;[2]
- Basílio Horta – minister in previous governments; candidate in the 1991 presidential election;[3]
- Daniel Proença de Carvalho – former Minister of Social Communication (1978–1979);[4]
- Diogo Freitas do Amaral – former President of the CDS (1974–1983; 1988–1992); candidate in the 1986 presidential election;[5]
- Francisco Pinto Balsemão – former Prime Minister (1981–1983); former President of the Social Democratic Party (1980–1983);[2]
- José Manuel Durão Barroso – incumbent President of the Social Democratic Party (1999–2004);[2]
- José Vieira de Carvalho – incumbent Mayor of Maia (1970–1974; 1979–2002);[6]
- Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa – former President of the Social Democratic Party (1996–1999).[2]
Campaign period
Party slogans
| Candidate | Original slogan | English translation | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jorge Sampaio | « Por todos nós » | "For all of us" | [7] | |
| Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral | « Juntos conseguimos » | "Together we succeed" | [8] | |
| António Abreu | « Razões de esquerda para Portugal » | "Left reasons for Portugal" | [9] | |
| Fernando Rosas | « Esquerda com rosto » | "Left with a face" | [10] | |
| António Garcia Pereira | « Ousar sonhar, ousar lutar, ousar vencer! » | "Dare to dream, dare to fight, dare to win!" | [11] | |
Candidates' debates
| 2001 Portuguese presidential election debates | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | |||||||||||||||||
| Sampaio | Amaral | Abreu | Rosas | Pereira | Refs | |||||||||||||||
| 4 Jan | RTP1 | Judite de Sousa | P | P | P | P | P | [12] | ||||||||||||
Opinion polls
Exit poll
| Polling firm | Date released | Sample size |
Oth/ Und |
Lead | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS | PSD | CDU | BE | PCTP | |||||
| Election results | 14 Jan 2001 | N/a | 55.6 | 34.7 | 5.2 | 3.0 | 1.6 | N/a | 20.9 |
| UCP/RTP | 14 Jan 2001 | N/a | 54–59 | 32–36 | 4–7 | 2–3.5 | 1–2.5 | N/a | 22.5 |
| Eurosondagem/SIC | 14 Jan 2001 | N/a | 55.9–58.7 | 31.1–34.9 | 4.2–6.4 | 1.7–3.3 | 1.1–2.3 | N/a | 24.4 |
| Intercampus/TVI | 14 Jan 2001 | N/a | 54.8–59.2 | 30.9–35.1 | 4.5–6.5 | 1.9–3.3 | 1.3–2.5 | N/a | 24.0 |
| UCP/RTP | 12 Jan 2001 | N/a | 63.5 | 29.1 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.2 | N/a | 34.4 |
| Euroexpansão/Expresso | 12 Jan 2001 | N/a | 64.8 | 31.9 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.4 | N/a | 32.9 |
| Eurosondagem/SIC | 12 Jan 2001 | N/a | 67.6 | 27.6 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.9 | N/a | 40.0 |
| UCP/RTP | 7 Jan 2001 | N/a | 67.9 | 27.2 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 0.8 | N/a | 40.7 |
| Euroexpansão/Expresso | 30 Dec 2000 | N/a | 60.1 | 29.6 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 7.2 | 30.5 |
| UCP/RTP | 18 Dec 2001 | N/a | 62.0 | 31.6 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 30.4 |
| Euroexpansão/Expresso | Nov 2000 | N/a | 61.9 | 26.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | N/a | 9.0 | 35.5 |
| Euroexpansão/Expresso | 1 Apr 2000 | N/a | 67 | 17 | N/a | N/a | N/a | 5[a] | 50 |
Results
National summary
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jorge Sampaio | Socialist Party | 2,401,015 | 55.55 | |
| Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral | Social Democratic Party[b] | 1,498,948 | 34.68 | |
| António Abreu | Portuguese Communist Party[c] | 223,196 | 5.16 | |
| Fernando Rosas | Left Bloc | 129,840 | 3.00 | |
| António Garcia Pereira | Portuguese Workers' Communist Party | 68,900 | 1.59 | |
| Total | 4,321,899 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 4,321,899 | 97.13 | ||
| Invalid votes | 45,510 | 1.02 | ||
| Blank votes | 82,391 | 1.85 | ||
| Total votes | 4,449,800 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,950,905 | 49.71 | ||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições | ||||
Results by district
| District | Sampaio | Amaral | Abreu | Rosas | Garcia Pereira | Turnout | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Aveiro | 149,301 | 51.16% | 125,306 | 42.93% | 6,240 | 2.14% | 6,942 | 2.38% | 4,068 | 1.39% | 51.96% | |
| Azores | 43,848 | 63.81% | 21,378 | 31.11% | 841 | 1.22% | 1,558 | 2.27% | 1,092 | 1.59% | 37.18% | |
| Beja | 41,180 | 62.16% | 9,988 | 15.08% | 11,979 | 18.08% | 2,287 | 3.45% | 814 | 1.23% | 47.12% | |
| Braga | 196,641 | 54.79% | 137,989 | 38.45% | 8,922 | 2.49% | 10,362 | 2.89% | 4,998 | 1.39% | 55.24% | |
| Bragança | 29,514 | 46.33% | 30,612 | 48.06% | 1,247 | 1.96% | 1,433 | 2.25% | 893 | 1.40% | 43.45% | |
| Castelo Branco | 57,888 | 58.89% | 33,353 | 33.93% | 3,069 | 3.12% | 2,698 | 2.74% | 1,296 | 1.32% | 52.45% | |
| Coimbra | 107,310 | 58.20% | 62,441 | 33.86% | 6,517 | 3.53% | 5,410 | 2.93% | 2,714 | 1.47% | 50.13% | |
| Évora | 45,182 | 62.00% | 14,914 | 20.47% | 9,970 | 13.68% | 2,080 | 2.85% | 724 | 0.99% | 50.28% | |
| Faro | 86,483 | 59.40% | 44,471 | 30.54% | 6,415 | 4.41% | 5,394 | 3.70% | 2,834 | 1.95% | 47.48% | |
| Guarda | 40,597 | 51.31% | 33,617 | 42.49% | 1,917 | 2.42% | 1,917 | 2.42% | 1,067 | 1.35% | 47.68% | |
| Leiria | 90,854 | 47.51% | 86,805 | 45.50% | 5,860 | 3.06% | 5,017 | 2.62% | 2,679 | 1.40% | 51.97% | |
| Lisbon | 517,692 | 56.49% | 285,472 | 31.15% | 61,338 | 6.69% | 32,831 | 3.58% | 19,077 | 2.08% | 51.69% | |
| Madeira | 51,837 | 51.01% | 43,092 | 42.41% | 1,477 | 1.45% | 3,237 | 3.19% | 1,970 | 1.94% | 49.26% | |
| Portalegre | 34,956 | 62.79% | 13,311 | 23.91% | 5,271 | 9.47% | 1,453 | 2.61% | 679 | 1.22% | 51.20% | |
| Porto | 428,798 | 57.87% | 256,975 | 34.68% | 25,433 | 3.43% | 19,648 | 2.65% | 10,072 | 1.36% | 53.13% | |
| Santarém | 113,079 | 56.84% | 65,258 | 32.80% | 11,344 | 5.70% | 6,320 | 3.18% | 2,959 | 1.49% | 52.59% | |
| Setúbal | 190,543 | 60.05% | 64,500 | 20.33% | 44,453 | 14.01% | 12,168 | 3.83% | 5,647 | 1.78% | 50.03% | |
| Viana do Castelo | 58,235 | 52.63% | 44,441 | 40.16% | 3,291 | 2.97% | 3,172 | 2.87% | 1,521 | 1.37% | 49.88% | |
| Vila Real | 48,037 | 48.44% | 45,519 | 45.90% | 1,955 | 1.97% | 2,343 | 2.36% | 1,312 | 1.32% | 46.24% | |
| Viseu | 79,478 | 48.72% | 74,416 | 45.61% | 2,992 | 1.83% | 4,097 | 2.51% | 2,161 | 1.32% | 48.03% | |
| Source: 2001 Presidential election results | ||||||||||||
Maps
-
Strongest candidate by electoral district. (Azores and Madeira not shown)
-
Strongest candidate by municipality.
Notes
- ^ With Basílio Horta (CDS-PP): 5%
- ^ Also supported by CDS – People's Party.
- ^ Also supported by the Ecologist Party "The Greens".
References
- ^ "Tomada de Posse de Jorge Sampaio". RTP Arquivos (in European Portuguese). 2001-03-09. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
- ^ a b c d "Candidato presidencial do PSD" (in European Portuguese). 2000-01-15. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
- ^ "Perfil de Basílio Horta". RTP Arquivos (in European Portuguese). 2000-03-25. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
- ^ "Candidatura Presidencial do PSD". RTP Arquivos (in European Portuguese). 2000-01-19. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
- ^ "Estratégia do CDS-PP para as Presidenciais" (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-12-27.
- ^ "Declarações de Vieira de Carvalho". RTP Arquivos (in European Portuguese). 2000-01-07. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
- ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "ELEIÇÕES PRESIDENCIAIS 2001 – CANDIDATURA DE FERREIRA DO AMARAL". EPHEMERA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "RTP transmite primeiro debate dos candidatos à presidência da República". Público (in Portuguese). 23 December 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- "CNE Resultados". Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Archived from the original on 8 April 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2005.
- "Centro de Estudos do Pensamento Político". Archived from the original on 18 August 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2005.
External links
- Portuguese Electoral Commission
- NSD: European Election Database - Portugal Archived 2014-12-20 at the Wayback Machine publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1990-2010