Portugal flag Portugal: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Portugal

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (since 9 March 2016) - PSD
Prime Minister: Antonio Luis Montenegro (since 2 April 2024) - PSD
Next Election Dates
Presidential: January 2026
Legislative: September 2028
Current Political Context

Following Prime Minister António Costa's resignation due to an investigation into suspected wrongdoing in the awarding of contracts for lithium and hydrogen companies, snap parliamentary elections were conducted on 10 March 2024. The centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD), led by Luís Montenegro, won 80 seats, while the Socialist Party (PS), which had lost the absolute majority it had obtained in the 2022 elections, was reduced to 78 MPs. No party was able to secure an absolute majority of seats. The right-wing populist Chega party also became the third-largest party in parliament after the election, more than quadrupling its previous number of MPs to 50. On 2 April 2024, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro took office as head of Portugal's XXIV Constitutional Government, which is a centre-right alliance between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the CDS-People's Party (CDS-PP).
The PS, under the leadership of Marta Temido, barely defeated the AD in the 2024 elections for the European Parliament, winning 32.1% of the vote and 8 seats—a net loss of one seat from the previous election. With 31.1% of the vote, the AD kept its 7 seats. With two members apiece, Chega and the Liberal Initiative (IL) became the first parties to enter the European Parliament. Voter turnout increased to 36.6%, the highest in 20 years.
Main Political Parties

The main political parties in Portugal include:

Executive Power
The President is the Head of State and the commander-in-chief of the army, although he/she has a primarily ceremonial and supervisory role. He or she is elected by universal suffrage for a five year term. After a general election, the leader of the majority party or coalition is usually appointed to be Prime Minister by the President. The Prime Minister is the head of the Government and holds executive power, which includes implementing laws and overseeing the everyday running of the country. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. There is also a Council of State, which acts as an advisory body to the President.
Legislative Power
Portuguese legislative power is unicameral. The parliament, called the Assembly of the Republic, has 230 seats. The members are elected by universal suffrage for a four year term. The executive branch of government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of Parliament, often expressed by a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister cannot dissolve the Assembly, but the President can do so and call for an early election. Portuguese citizens enjoy considerable political rights.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
9/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: February 2025