1980 Portuguese presidential election

A presidential election was held in Portugal on 7 December 1980, as according to the decree that approved the Constitution, which stipulated that the first term of the President would end three months after the end of the first legislature, on 14 October 1980.

1980 Portuguese presidential election

7 December 1980
Turnout	84.39% ( 8.92pp)
Candidate António Ramalho Eanes António Soares Carneiro Party Independent Supported by: PS PCP PCTP/MRPP AD Popular vote 3,262,520 2,325,481 Percentage 56.44% 40.23%
Eanes   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90% Soares   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%   >90%
President before election António Ramalho Eanes Independent Elected President António Ramalho Eanes Independent

Incumbent president General Ramalho Eanes gathered the support of the Socialist Party, despite the objection of their leader, Mário Soares, and also the support of the Portuguese Communist Party, whose candidate, Carlos Brito, withdrew the week before election day, giving his support to Eanes. The Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers also supported Eanes, whose picture became a feature on numerous walls around the country, painted by Communist Party activists.

One of the major players in the democratic revolution of 1974, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, was also a candidate, for the second time, but finished far behind his previous result of 1976. The newly founded Workers Party of Socialist Unity presented its own candidate, Aires Rodrigues.

His main opponent, General Soares Carneiro, was known for his right-wing views and was branded by opponents as a hardliner, with links to the dictatorial regime that had been overthrown only six years earlier. He was supported by the Democratic Alliance (AD), a centre-right coalition of the Social Democratic Party, the Democratic Social Center, and the smaller People's Monarchist Party.

Two days before the election, two of Soares Carneiro's leading supporters, Prime Minister Francisco Sá Carneiro (no relation) and Defence Minister Adelino Amaro da Costa, died in a plane crash while they were heading for a rally in Porto. Despite the accident, the election went ahead as planned, but predictions that a second round would be needed were shown to be wrong, with Ramalho Eanes winning with almost 57 percent, against 40 percent for Soares Carneiro. Eanes was sworn in for a second term as President on 14 January 1981.

Electoral system

Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it was necessary to gather between 7500 and 15000 signatures and submit them to the Supreme Court of Justice.

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

• António Ramalho Eanes, Incumbent President since 1976 and eligible for a second term, Independent candidate supported by the Socialist Party, Portuguese Communist Party and the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party;
• António Soares Carneiro , Military officer, supported by the Democratic Alliance (AD);
• Carlos Galvão de Melo, General officer, Member of the National Salvation Junta, Independent candidate;
• Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Military officer, polled second place in 1976, supported by the Popular Unity Force;
• António Pires Veloso, Major general of the Portuguese Army, Independent candidate;
• António Aires Rodrigues, supported by the Workers Party of Socialist Unity
• Carlos Brito, Official candidate of the Portuguese Communist Party, Left the race to support Ramalho Eanes;

Campaign period

Issues

The campaign was mostly a duel between Prime Minister Sá Carneiro and President Eanes, with the right-wing turning against Eanes, while the left-wing united around him. Mário Soares refused to support Eanes against the overwhelming will of his own party, as Soares also had a very bad relationship with Eanes. Sá Carneiro himself considered running against Eanes, but his marital situation (Sá Carneiro lived with Snu Abecassis, although still married to his first wife, who refused to grant him a divorce) blocked this possibility, therefore, the candidate chosen to face Eanes, General António Soares Carneiro, wasn't his first pick, as many generals also refused to challenge Eanes, plus, Soares Carneiro's connections with the previous dictatorial regime raised questions, but Sá Carneiro stood behind Soares Carneiro till the end, accusing Eanes of aligning with the Communists, of wanting to extend the military's political power and of fighting against the AD government. Under the motto "one majority, one government, one president", and recently bolstered by the October 1980 legislative election, Sá Carneiro even threatened to resign as Prime Minister if Eanes were reelected. However, the campaign was cut short after the tragic Camarate plane crash, where Sá Carneiro died on route to Porto for a last minute rally in support of Soares Carneiro.

Party slogans

Candidate		Original slogan	English translation	Refs
	António Ramalho Eanes	« O Presidente de todos os Portugueses »	"The President of all Portuguese"
	António Soares Carneiro	« Maioria, Governo, Presidente » « Segurança no futuro »	"Majority, Government, President" "Safety in the future"
	Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho	« Na Presidência um amigo »	"A friend in the presidency"
	Carlos Galvão de Melo	« Candidato de Portugal »	"Portugal's candidate"
	António Pires Veloso	« Vota Portugal »	"Vote Portugal"

Results

National summary

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	António Ramalho Eanes	Independent	3,262,520	56.44
	António Soares Carneiro	Democratic Alliance	2,325,481	40.23
	Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho	Popular Unity Force	85,896	1.49
	Carlos Galvão de Melo	Independent	48,468	0.84
	António Pires Veloso	Independent	45,132	0.78
	António Aires Rodrigues	Workers Party of Socialist Unity	12,745	0.22
Total			5,780,242	100.00
Valid votes			5,780,242	98.97
Invalid votes			16,076	0.28
Blank votes			44,014	0.75
Total votes			5,840,332	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			6,920,869	84.39
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Results by district

District		Eanes		Carneiro		Otelo		Galvão de Melo		Pires Veloso		Rodrigues		Turnout
		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Aveiro	161,264	46.09%	177,116	50.62%	2,924	0.84%	4,441	1.27%	3,441	0.98%	699	0.20%	84.56%
	Azores	65,399	57.22%	46,059	40.30%	656	0.57%	1,150	1.01%	863	0.76%	175	0.20%	74.09%
	Beja	87,644	74.49%	24,395	20.73%	3,210	2.73%	888	0.75%	916	0.78%	618	0.53%	82.03%
	Braga	197,162	52.12%	170,796	45.15%	3,380	0.89%	2,541	0.67%	3,746	0.99%	692	0.18%	88.18%
	Bragança	35,628	36.21%	59,809	60.66%	696	0.71%	745	0.76%	1,354	1.37%	294	0.30%	77.51%
	Castelo Branco	80,341	55.07%	61,140	41.90%	1,500	1.03%	984	0.67%	1,570	1.08%	367	0.25%	81.74%
	Coimbra	147,345	57.03%	102,930	39.84%	3,129	1.21%	2,274	0.88%	1,891	0.73%	776	0.30%	80.43%
	Évora	85,820	70.40%	31,270	25.65%	2,870	2.35%	901	0.74%	587	0.48%	451	0.37%	87.02%
	Faro	128,720	64.94%	61,282	30.92%	3,607	1.82%	1,934	0.98%	1,979	1.00%	699	0.35%	81.45%
	Guarda	50,349	40.37%	70,556	56.68%	870	0.70%	875	0.70%	1,573	1.26%	351	0.28%	81.13%
	Leiria	111,447	45.33%	126,203	51.33%	3,087	1.26%	2,655	1.08%	1,810	0.74%	678	0.28%	82.69%
	Lisbon	792,652	60.72%	469,173	35.94%	24,178	1.85%	11,323	0.87%	6,019	0.46%	2,011	0.15%	86.25%
	Madeira	52,208	44.34%	60,160	51.10%	2,446	2.08%	1,494	1.27%	1,198	1.02%	230	0.20%	77.46%
	Portalegre	65,466	68.58%	27,485	28.79%	918	0.96%	777	0.81%	524	0.55%	285	0.30%	85.75%
	Porto	523,634	57.85%	355,723	39.30%	10,251	1.13%	5,726	0.63%	8,627	0.95%	1,197	0.13%	88.17%
	Santarém	173,821	61.41%	99,911	35.30%	3,901	1.38%	2,723	0.96%	1,839	0.65%	872	0.31%	83.87%
	Setúbal	299,596	74.75%	82,290	20.53%	13,826	3.45%	2,804	0.70%	1,363	0.34%	919	0.23%	86.41%
	Viana do Castelo	63,172	44.76%	74,052	52.47%	1,156	0.82%	991	0.70%	1,426	1.01%	328	0.23%	80.17%
	Vila Real	53,884	39.06%	80,420	58.30%	969	0.70%	744	0.54%	1,538	1.11%	398	0.29%	78.65%
	Viseu	82,370	36.04%	139,077	60.59%	1,934	0.84%	2,425	1.06%	2,764	1.20%	601	0.26%	79.04%
Source: SGMAI Presidential Election Results

Maps

• 
  Strongest candidate by electoral district.
• 
  Strongest candidate by municipality: Eanes - magenta; Soares Carneiro - darkblue.

External links

• National Election Commission