2029 Portuguese local elections

Local elections will take place in Portugal on late September or early October 2029. The election consists of three separate elections in the 308 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, another election for the Municipal Assembly, as well an election for the lower-level Parish Assembly, whose winner is elected parish president. This last was held separately in the more than 3,000 parishes around the country.

In this election, 47 mayors elected in 2025 will not be able to seek reelection due to term limits, with PS having the highest number among all parties of term-limited mayors (24), followed by PSD (19). 2 independent mayors will be term-limited as well as one from PCP and one from CDS.

Among the mayors that are term-limited in 2029 are Socialists Inês de Medeiros from Almada, Luísa Salgueiro from Matosinhos, Hugo Martins from Odivelas, Alexandre Almeida from Paredes and Frederico Rosa from Barreiro; Social Democrat António Silva Tiago from Maia; and Independent Isaltino Morais from Oeiras.

Background

Date According to the local election law, an election must be called between 22 September and 14 October of the year that the local mandates end. The election is called by a Government of Portugal decree, unlike legislative elections which are called by the President of the Republic. The election date must be announced at least 80 days before election day. Election day is the same in all municipalities, and should fall on a Sunday or national holiday. The 2029 local elections will, therefore, have to take place no later than 14 October 2029.

Electoral system

All 308 municipalities are allocated a certain number of councilors to elect corresponding to the number of registered voters in a given municipality. 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, making mayors de facto elected under first-past-the-post (FPTP). Parish presidents also are de facto elected under FPTP. The lists are closed and the seats in each municipality are apportioned according to the D'Hondt method. Unlike in national legislative elections, independent lists are allowed to run.

Council seats and Parish assembly seats are distributed as follows: +Seat allocation for the 2029 local electionCouncilorsParish AssemblySeatsVotersSeatsVoters17only Lisbon19+amore than 30,000 voters13only Porto19more than 20,000 voters11100,000 voters or more13more than 5,000 voters9more than 50,000 voters9more than 1,000 voters7more than 10,000 voters71,000 voters or less510,000 voters or less a For parishes with more than 30,000 voters, the number of seats mentioned above is increased by one per every 10,000 voters in excess of that number, and then by one more if the result is even.

Electoral reform During the 2025 election campaign, the PSD and PS opened the possibility of reforming the electoral law for local elections. The PS suggested bringing back a proposal, that failed to be approved in 2008, that would abolish the municipal council ballot and elect the mayor through the municipal assembly election. However, as of 2026, no proposal has been submitted.

By-elections (2025–2029) As of 2026, during the normal four-year term of local governments, one by-election for parish assemblies has been held, while another had not yet been scheduled, with no municipal council by-elections having been announced.

Parties The main political forces that will be involved in the election are:

Left Bloc (BE) CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP) (only in some municipalities)1 Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU) Chega (CH) Liberal Initiative (IL) Together for the People (JPP) LIVRE (L) Socialist Party (PS) Social Democratic Party (PSD) (only in some municipalities)1

1 The PSD and the CDS–PP are expected to form coalitions in several municipalities between them and with some smaller center-right/right-wing parties like the Earth Party (MPT) and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM).

Current City control The following table lists party control in all district capitals, highlighted in bold, as well as in municipalities above 100,000 inhabitants. Population estimates from 2025. MunicipalityPopulationPrevious controlNew controlAlmada202,896Socialist Party (PS)Amadora205,517Socialist Party (PS)Aveiro91,397PSD / CDS–PP / PPMBarcelos122,487PSD / CDS–PPBeja39,627PSD / CDS–PP / ILBraga212,635PSD / CDS–PP / PPMBragança38,309Socialist Party (PS)Cascais242,619PSD / CDS–PPCastelo Branco58,197Socialist Party (PS)Coimbra156,359PS / L / PANÉvora58,567Socialist Party (PS)Faro80,256Socialist Party (PS)Funchal113,443PSD / CDS–PPGondomar170,597Socialist Party (PS)Guarda40,687 NC / PPMGuimarães165,554PSD / CDS–PPLeiria145,861Socialist Party (PS)Lisbon658,236PSD / CDS–PP / ILLoures236,988Socialist Party (PS)Maia142,129PSD / CDS–PPMatosinhos181,930Socialist Party (PS)Odivelas185,736Socialist Party (PS)Oeiras188,056Independent (IND)Ponta Delgada71,695Social Democratic Party (PSD)Portalegre24,025PSD / CDS–PPPorto273,476PSD / CDS–PP / ILSantarém69,392PSD / CDS–PPSanta Maria da Feira142,676Social Democratic Party (PSD)Seixal198,254 Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU)Setúbal141,266Independent (IND)Sintra449,956PSD / IL / PANViana do Castelo92,860Socialist Party (PS)Vila Franca de Xira152,007Socialist Party (PS)Vila Nova de Famalicão143,801PSD / CDS–PPVila Nova de Gaia323,202PSD / CDS–PP / ILVila Real52,964Socialist Party (PS)Viseu109,166Socialist Party (PS)

2029 Portuguese local elections

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