2025 Portuguese Local Elections

Portugal is preparing to go to the polls on October 12, this time to elect its local authorities. In total, 308 municipalities will hold a vote for their leaderships, with a third of them seeing their mayor reach the term limit. More than 3,000 parishes will also elect their officials.

Along with the significant change in protagonists, and contrary to what usually happens in this type of election, these elections serve as a test for the Socialist Party (PS) – which is still the largest party in local government – and Chega, which, after achieving a resounding result in the last legislative elections, will want to win its first municipal councils.

For the largest party in Government, a victory in these elections may not even require winning a majority of councils. The 2021 result fell so far short of that of the PS that this time it will be enough for the Social Democrats to grow significantly to emerge as the winners of these elections.

The election campaign that is now getting underway will be crucial in determining the outcome of the races that are still open, in order to anticipate the impact that possible changes in the direction of the different municipalities will have on the companies operating in them.