The 1989 Lisbon local election was held on 17 December 1989 to elect the members of the Lisbon City Council.
Former minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, announced his candidacy for Mayor of Lisbon, with a coalition between the Social Democrats, the Centrists and the Monarchists. Meanwhile, Jorge Sampaio, the secretary-general of the Socialist Party, unnexpectedly announced that he would be the party's candidate for Mayor of Lisbon, forming a coalition with the Communist Party and its allies (PEV and MDP/CDE). Hermínio Martinho, the former leader of the Democratic Renewal Party, was also a candidate.
During the campaign, the Social Democratic candidate, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, organized several unusual acts, like diving into the Tagus river to highlight water pollution, driving a taxi and collecting garbage, but these actions backfired, by being seen as populist and artificial. On the other hand, Sampaio's campaign was seen as more sober, stable and authentic, with a final debate on RTP1 consolidating the Socialist's advantage. On election day, Sampaio won with 49% of the votes and 9 seats, beating Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa who got 42% of the votes and elected 8 seats.
Background In the 1985 election, incumbent Mayor Nuno Krus Abecasis ran as the Social Democratic candidate, winning with 44.8% of the votes and electing 8 seats, one short of a majority. The United People Alliance finished second, with 27.5% of the votes and 5 seats, well ahead of the Socialist Party, led by Helena Torres Marques, with 18.0% of the votes and 3 seats. The People's Monarchist Party ended up getting one seat, after getting 5.1% of the votes.
In August 1988, a massive urban fire destroyed part of the city's downtown, the Chiado area, with several shops and businesses being lost. The reconstruction took several years to complete, and Mayor Krus Abecasis faced several criticisms for his lack of urban and disaster relief planning.
Electoral system Each party or coalition must present a list of candidates. The winner of the most voted list for the municipal council is automatically elected mayor, similar to first-past-the-post (FPTP). The lists are closed and the seats in each municipality are apportioned according to the D'Hondt method.
Parties and candidates Party/CoalitionPoliticalpositionCandidate1985 resultRef.Votes (%)SeatsVMLLive Better in Lisbon Centre-rightto right-wingMarcelo Rebelo de Sousa49.8%PLFor Lisbon Centre-leftto left-wingJorge Sampaio45.5%PCTPPortuguese Workers' Communist PartyFar-leftAntónio Garcia Pereira0.4%PRDDemocratic Renewal PartyCentre to centre-leftHermínio MartinhoFERRevolutionary Left FrontFar-leftGil Garcia
Opinion polling
Polling firm/LinkFieldwork dateSample sizePSD/CDS/PPMPS/CDU/MDP/CDEPRDLeadPSDPPMCDUPS1989 local election17 Dec 1989 42.149.1 3.1 5.77.0Euroexpansão17 Dec 1989?38.5–42.7 47.8–52.0 3.1–4.7 –9.31985 local election15 Dec 1985 44.8 5.1 27.5 18.0 4.6 17.3
Results
Municipal Council
| colspan="11" align=center| |- ! rowspan="2" colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left|Parties ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|±pp swing ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Councillors |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Total ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|± |- |style="width: 9px" bgcolor=#ff3366 align="center" | |align=left|PS / PCP / PEV / MDP/CDE |180,635||49.07||3.6||9||1 |- |style="width: 9px" bgcolor=#2a52be align="center" | |align=left|PSD / CDS / PPM |154,888||42.07||7.7||8||1
|11,453||3.11||||0||
|6,390||1.74||1.3||0||0 |- |style="width: 9px" bgcolor=red align="center" | |align=left|Revolutionary Left Front |1,326||0.36||||0|| |- |colspan=2 width="330" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total valid |width="50" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|342,132 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|96.59 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|0.1 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|17 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|0 |- |colspan=2|Blank ballots |7,492||1.87||0.2||colspan=3 rowspan=4| |- |colspan=2|Invalid ballots |5,659||1.54||0.1 |- |colspan=2 align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total |width="50" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|367,610 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|100.00 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |- |colspan=2|Registered voters/turnout ||670,447||54.83||1.3 |- | colspan=11 align=left | Source: Lisbon 1989 election results
Municipal Assembly
| colspan="7" align=center| |- ! rowspan="2" colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left|Parties ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|±pp swing ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Seats |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Total ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|± |- |style="width: 9px" bgcolor=#ff3366 align="center" | |align=left|PS / PCP / PEV / MDP/CDE |182,237||49.57|||0.7||28||1 |- |style="width: 9px" bgcolor=#2a52be align="center" | |align=left|PSD / CDS / PPM |154,744||42.09|||2.3||24||1
|12,685||3.45||||2||
|6,390||1.42|||0.7||0|| |- |colspan=2 width="330" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total valid |width="50" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|354,425 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|96.52 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|0.4 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|54 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|0 |- |colspan=2|Blank ballots |7,502||1.92||0.0||colspan=3 rowspan=4| |- |colspan=2|Invalid ballots |5,717||1.56||0.4 |- |colspan=2 align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total |width="50" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|367,644 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|100.00 |width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |- |colspan=2|Registered voters/turnout ||670,447||54.84||3.9 |- | colspan=7 align=left | Source: Lisbon 1989 election results
Parish Assemblies
|- class="unsortable" !rowspan=2|Parish!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S !rowspan=2|TotalS |- class="unsortable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan=2 | PS/CDU/MDP/CDE !colspan=2 | PSD/CDS/PPM !colspan=2 | PRD |- | style="text-align:left;" | Ajuda | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 61.2 | 13 | 30.2 | 6 | 3.5
| 19 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Alcântara | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 58.8 | 12 | 34.8 | 7 | 2.7
| 19 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Alto do Pina | 39.8 | 5 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 53.8 | 8 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Alvalade | 34.7 | 5 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 59.9 | 8 | 2.4
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Ameixoeira | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 57.6 | 8 | 34.2 | 5 | 2.9
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Anjos | 42.3 | 6 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 49.9 | 7 | 3.4
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Beato | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 56.5 | 8 | 32.7 | 5 | 4.1
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Benfica | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 50.9 | 12 | 41.3 | 9 | 2.6
| 21 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Campo Grande | 46.9 | 6 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 48.0 | 7 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Campolide | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 52.8 | 11 | 37.4 | 8 | 4.4
| 19 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Carnide | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 62.5 | 9 | 30.9 | 4 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Castelo | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 64.1 | 5 | 29.4 | 2 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 7 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Charneca | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 53.3 | 8 | 35.1 | 5 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Coração de Jesus | 40.5 | 6 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 52.4 | 7 | 3.7
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Encarnação | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 50.7 | 7 | 41.2 | 6 | 5.2
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Graça | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 54.7 | 8 | 39.8 | 5 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Lapa | 39.5 | 5 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 56.3 | 8 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Lumiar | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 47.8 | 10 | 44.1 | 9 | 2.9
| 19 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Madalena | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 50.7 | 4 | 42.8 | 3 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 7 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Mártires | 40.7 | 3 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 55.8 | 4 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 7 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Marvila | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 64.1 | 14 | 21.8 | 5 | 5.4 | 1 | 20 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Mercês | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 52.8 | 7 | 41.9 | 6 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Nossa Senhora de Fátima | 39.6 | 8 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 54.4 | 11 | 1.8
| 19 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Pena | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 46.9 | 7 | 43.8 | 6 | 5.1
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Penha de França | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 50.6 | 7 | 41.2 | 6 | 3.4
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Prazeres | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 55.4 | 8 | 38.5 | 5 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Sacramento | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 51.9 | 5 | 44.8 | 4 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 9 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santa Catarina | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 51.3 | 7 | 38.7 | 6 | 4.6
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santa Engrácia | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 52.9 | 7 | 41.8 | 6 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santa Isabel | 42.7 | 6 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 47.9 | 7 | 3.7
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santa Justa | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 48.7 | 5 | 44.7 | 4 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 9 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santa Maria de Belém | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 50.0 | 7 | 43.6 | 6 | 3.1
| 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santa Maria dos Olivais | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 54.5 | 14 | 35.6 | 9 | 3.9
| 23 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santiago | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 63.6 | 6 | 33.2 | 3 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 9 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santo Condestável | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 51.3 | 11 | 40.6 | 8 | 2.9
| 19 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santo Estêvão | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 68.4 | 7 | 27.0 | 2 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 9 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Santos-o-Velho | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 54.5 | 8 | 40.3 | 5 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 13 |- | style="text-align:left;" | São Cristóvão e São Lourenço | style="background:#ff3366; color:white;"| 49.4 | 5 | 45.9 | 4 | colspan="2" bgcolor="#AAAAAA"| | 9 |- | style="text-align:left;" | São Domingos de Benfica | 46.7 | 9 | style="background:#2a52be; color:white;"| 48.1 | 10 | 2.7
| 19 |- | style="text-align:left;" | São Francisco Xavier | 35.2 | 5