Carlos Moedas wins in Lisbon, reinforced. Maria das Dores Meira wins back Setúbal, although she wasn't far behind her PS opponent. There are two more independent movements leading chambers in the region and, on the South Bank, Chega was neck and neck with the CDU in Sesimbra and Palmela.
The political map of the Lisbon metropolitan region has changed, but not as much as expected. Carlos Moedas wins in Lisbon, close to an absolute majority. Maria das Dores Meira regained Setúbal, although she wasn't far behind her PS opponent. There are two more independent movements leading chambers in the region and, on the South Bank, Chega was neck and neck with the CDU, but still lost to the Communists.
You can check the results here.
The most important municipalities
In Lisbon, Carlos Moedas gained one more councillor, from seven to eight. The left was left with seven councillors (we included the Viver Lisboa coalition and the CDU in this analysis), having lost three councillors compared to 2021. In fact, the CDU had two councillors and now has only one. In 2021, the PS coalition had won seven councillors and the BE one; now, the Viver Lisboa coalition (which included the BE) has six councillors. So, from 10 left-wing councillors on the Lisbon City Council, there are now seven. Chega makes its debut in the municipal executive with two councillors. In the Municipal Assembly, the CDU keeps the same number of deputies, six. Otherwise, there are few changes.
Projections at 8 p.m. showed a technical tie between Carlos Moedas and Alexandra Leitão, creating a stalemate throughout the night in Lisbon. But as the hours progressed, the Socialists realized that it would be difficult for them to win the city council:
| Candidate | RTP | SIC/TVI |
|---|---|---|
| Carlos Moedas (PSD) | 37% - 42% | 37% - 42% |
| Alexandra Leitão (PS) | 37% - 42% | 34% - 39% |
| João Ferreira (CDU) | 8% - 11% | 9% - 12% |
| Bruno Mascarenhas (CH) | 7% - 10% | 8% - 11% |
At Sintra, Marco Almeida, from the PSD, who was running for mayor for the third time, won. He had 33.86% of the votes, ahead of Ana Mendes Godinho (PS/Livre) with 31.67%. Rita Matias, from Chega, managed just 23.38%, increasing the number of councillors from one to three. The CDU no longer has representation on the council.
The projections left some hope for Ana Mendes Godinho, but Marco Almeida's victory was more likely:
| Candidate | RTP | SIC/TVI |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Almeida (PSD) | 33% - 37% | 32% - 37% |
| Ana Mendes Godinho (PS) | 32% - 36% | 30% - 35% |
| Rita Matias (CH) | 19% - 22% | 19% - 24% |
The CDU lost Setúbal, as expected. Maria das Dores Meira won with 29.91%. It was a fair result. Fernando Jorge, of the PS, had 27,48%, or 1,338 votes less. In the Municipal Assembly, there's practically a tie between the Dores and PS lists - they're only 43 votes apart. Returning to the City Council, the CDU only got one councillor, which means it lost four: André Martins, the current Mayor, will thus leave that position and become a mere councillor.
| Candidate | RTP | SIC/TVI |
|---|---|---|
| Maria das Dores (Ind) | 29% - 34% | 27% - 32% |
| Fernando José (PS) | 27% - 31% | 26% - 31% |
| António Cachaço (CH) | 16% - 21% | 16% - 20% |
| André Martins (CDU) | 10% - 13% | 9% - 13% |
CDU holds the South Bank, but Chega comes closer
Regarding the results in the region, in North Bank, The PS kept Vila Franca de Xira, Loures, Amadora and Odivelas. The PSD kept Cascais, Sintra and Lisbon. Mafra retains its current mayor, an independent who left the PSD.
- at Loures, In 2021, socialist Ricardo Leão strengthened his leadership, with the PS winning two more councillors compared to 2021 and obtaining 23.88% of the votes. Chega became the second political force with 20.67% and two councillors; the CDU lost three councillors, leaving it with just one;
- at Amadora, Vítor Ferreira, the current mayor, won re-election, dethroning PSD candidate Suzana Garcia. Even so, the gap has narrowed compared to 2021, when Suzana Garcia also ran: now, the PS and PSD have four councillors (33.00% and 30.01%, respectively); in 2021, the PS had elected seven councillors (43.88%) and the PSD three (24.55%). Chega elected two and CDU one;
- at Oeiras, The Evoluir Oeiras coalition (Livre, BE and Volt) has left the City Council. Councillor Carla Castelo failed to win re-election, but the coalition will continue to be represented in the Municipal Assembly with two deputies (it lost one). Isaltino Morais increased his vote in the municipality;
- at Cascais, The PSD won, without any major surprises, and the independent João Maria Jonet managed to elect two councillors, coming third with 14,71% and more than 13,000 votes. He was very close to the PS, which took second place with 16,18% and a difference of 1,317 votes. The result ended the PSD's absolute majority in the municipality;
- at Mafra, The current mayor, Hugo Moreira Luís, a former PSD candidate who ran as an independent, was re-elected albeit with a very narrow gap to his PSD opponent - just 146 votes. Hugo got 33,49% and four councillors, while the PSD got 33,15% and three councillors.
At South Bank, The PS retained Almada, Barreiro and Alcochete, with no surprises. Chega grew significantly in Moita, Palmela and Sesimbra, more specifically in Quinta do Conde, but didn't win any seats. Montijo went to an independent.
- at Moita, The PS managed to hold on to the council, despite Chega's giant rise in the municipality. It got 35.60%, down from 37.63% in 2021, but kept the same four councillors. The CDU becomes the third force, with two councillors (half as many as in 2021), and Chega gains the status of second force, increasing from one to three councillors. In the Municipal Assembly, the balance of power is similar;
- on Montijo, the independent movement won Montijo with Vision and Heart (MVC), headed by Fernando Caria, putting an end to 28 years of PS rule in the municipality. He won with 27,48%, close to the 24,79% of Chega, the second political force. The MVC got three councillors and Chega two; the PS, which had three councillors in 2021, was reduced to one; the PSD lost one of its two councillors; the CDU is no longer represented on the council, having lost its two councillors. In the Montijo Municipal Assembly, Chega won with 53 more votes than the MVC;
- the CDU managed to hold on to Sesimbra, Seixal and Palmela, one of its strongholds. In Sesimbra, It was a close call: Chega came in second with just 147 votes less; in third was the PS with 279 votes less than the CDU. The parish of Quinta do Conde is where Chega grew the most in Sesimbra and where it achieved this result. In the Municipal Assembly, Chega comes in first, followed by the PS and the CDU, although with few differences in votes;
- at Palmela and in the Seixal, Chega also became the second political force, ahead of the PS. In the Palmela Municipal Assembly, Chega also won. In Seixal, the distance between the CDU and Chega is greater.
Coins lose Arroios
Looking at the Parish Assemblies, the vote broadly maintains the results of 2021 with two exceptions: the PSD-led coalition won Campo de Ourique and Campolide from the PS (Campo de Ourique stays orange and Campolide is the first parish presided over by IL). The left-wing coalition, led by the PS, won back Arroios from Moedas' right-wing coalition. This means that the centrist Madalena Natividade, president of the Arroios council for the last four years, lost to the independent João Jaime Pires, the former director of Liceu Camões who headed the list of the PS, Livre, BE and PAN coalition.
In 2021, Arroios had gone over to Carlos Moedas' coalition, at a time when the Almirante Reis bike path was a hot topic and when the previous president, from the PS, found herself involved in a controversy related to the misuse of council resources - namely the hiring of services and representation expenses - which raised doubts about her management and ended up weakening her political position.
On another note: Carnide remains CDU, despite the fact that the vote for the City Council and Assembly was this time for the PSD-led coalition rather than the PS.
