2001 Portuguese presidential election

2001 Portuguese presidential election

← 1996 14 January 2001 2006 →
Turnout49.71% (Decrease 16.58pp)
 
Jorge Sampaio 2.jpg
PSD
António Abreu crop.jpg
Candidate Jorge Sampaio Ferreira do Amaral António Abreu
Party PS PSD PCP
Popular vote 2,401,015 1,498,948 223,196
Percentage 55.55% 34.68% 5.16%

Results by district
Results by municipality

Sampaio

  40-50%
  50-60%
  60-70%
  70-80%

Amaral

  40-50%
  50-60%
  60-70%


President before election

Jorge Sampaio
PS

Elected President

Jorge Sampaio
PS

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%). 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.

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 logo of the election.
  • Jorge Sampaio, President since 1996 and eligible for a second term, leader of the PS between 1989 and 1992, supported by the Socialist Party;
  • Joaquim Martins Ferreira do Amaral, former minister of public works of Cavaco Silva government between 1990 and 1995, supported by the Social Democratic Party and by the People's Party;
  • António Abreu, alderman in Lisbon between 1997 and 2001, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party;
  • Fernando Rosas, Portuguese academic and politician, supported by the Left Bloc;
  • Garcia Pereira, Secretary-General of the PCTP/MRPP;

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.

Campaign period

Party slogans

Candidate Original slogan English translation Refs
Jorge Sampaio « Por todos nós » "For all of us" [1]
Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral « Juntos conseguimos » "Together we succeed" [2]
António Abreu « Razões de esquerda para Portugal » "Left reasons for Portugal" [3]
Fernando Rosas « Esquerda com rosto » "Left with a face" [4]
António Garcia Pereira « Ousar sonhar, ousar lutar, ousar vencer! » "Dare to dream, dare to fight, dare to win!" [5]

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 [6]

Opinion polls

  Exit poll

Polling firm Date released Sample
size
Others Lead
Sampaio
PS
Amaral
PSD
Abreu
PCP, PEV
Rosas
BE
Pereira
PCTP/MRPP
Election results 14 Jan 2001 55.6 34.7 5.2 3.0 1.6 20.9
UCP–CESOP/RTP 14 Jan 2001 54–59 32–36 4–7 2–3.5 1–2.5 22.5
Eurosondagem/SIC 14 Jan 2001 55.9–58.7 31.1–34.9 4.2–6.4 1.7–3.3 1.1–2.3 24.4
Intercampus/TVI 14 Jan 2001 54.8–59.2 30.9–35.1 4.5–6.5 1.9–3.3 1.3–2.5 24.0
UCP–CESOP/RTP 12 Jan 2001 63.5 29.1 2.4 2.7 2.2 34.4
Euroexpansão/Expresso 12 Jan 2001 64.8 31.9 1.2 1.7 0.4 32.9
Eurosondagem/SIC 12 Jan 2001 67.6 27.6 1.5 2.2 0.9 40.0
UCP–CESOP/RTP 7 Jan 2001 67.9 27.2 2.2 1.9 0.8 40.7
UCP–CESOP/RTP 18 Dec 2001 62.0 31.6 1.7 2.0 0.2 2.5 30.4
Euroexpansão/Expresso 1 Apr 2000 67 17 5[a] 50

Results

CandidatePartyVotes%
Jorge SampaioSocialist Party2,401,01555.55
Joaquim Ferreira do AmaralSocial Democratic Party–People's Party1,498,94834.68
António AbreuPortuguese Communist PartyThe Greens223,1965.16
Fernando RosasLeft Bloc129,8403.00
António Garcia PereiraPortuguese Workers' Communist Party68,9001.59
Total4,321,899100.00
Valid votes4,321,89997.13
Invalid votes45,5101.02
Blank votes82,3911.85
Total votes4,449,800100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,950,90549.71
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 electoral district. (Azores and Madeira not shown)
  • Strongest candidate by municipality.
    Strongest candidate by municipality.

References

  1. ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. ^ "ELEIÇÕES PRESIDENCIAIS 2001 – CANDIDATURA DE FERREIRA DO AMARAL". EPHEMERA (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Os cartazes das eleições presidenciais desde 1976". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. ^ "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.

Notes

  1. ^ With Basílio Horta (CDS-PP): 5%

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
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  • See also: Elections in the Azores
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