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1999 European Parliament election in Portugal

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1999 European Parliament election in Portugal
← 1994 13 June 1999 2004 →
25 seats to the European Parliament
Turnout39.9% Increase 4.4 pp
  First party Second party
  Mário Soares (2003) portrait.jpg JosePachecoPereira.jpg
Leader Mário Soares Pacheco Pereira
Party PS PSD
Alliance PES EPP
Last election 10 seats, 34.9% 9 seats, 34.4%
Seats won 12 9
Seat change Increase 2 Steady 0
Popular vote 1,493,146 1,078,528
Percentage 43.1% 31.1%
Swing Increase 8.2 pp Decrease 3.3 pp
  Third party Fourth party
  Ilda Figueiredo 2011 (cropped).jpg P Portas 2009.png
Leader Ilda Figueiredo Paulo Portas
Party CDU CDS–PP
Alliance GUE/NGL UFE
Last election 3 seats, 11.2% 3 seats, 12.5%
Seats won 2 2
Seat change Decrease 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 357,671 283,067
Percentage 10.3% 8.2%
Swing Decrease 0.9 pp Decrease 4.3 pp

An election of MEP representing Portugal constituency for the 1999–2004 term of the European Parliament was held on 13 June. It was part of the wider 1999 European election.

In the runner up for the 1999 general elections, the Socialist Party (PS) won the EU elections by a landslide. The party, headed by its founder and former President of the Republic and Prime Minister Mário Soares, scored a convincing victory over the Social Democrats. The PS increased its share of vote more than 8 percent and won 2 more seats compared with 1994. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) had a bad performance, but was able to hold on to its 9 seats, but, at the same time, the party saw their share of vote drop to 31 percent, around 3 points lower than in 1994.

The Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) performed quite well, although it dropped compared with 1994. The Communist/Green alliance won more than 10 percent of the votes, a drop of around 1 point, and lost one seat but was able to reclaim the title of 3rd largest party. The People's Party (CDS–PP), was the party that suffered the most. The People's Party dropped to fourth place and had the biggest fall in terms of share of the vote, winning just 8 percent of the vote, a fall of more than 4 points. They also lost one seat compared to 1994.

Turnout increased compared with 1994, with 39.9 percent of voters casting a ballot.

Electoral system

The voting method used, for the election of European members of parliament, is by proportional representation using the d'Hondt method, which is known to benefit leading parties. In the 1999 EU elections, Portugal had 25 seats to be filled. Deputies are elected in a single constituency, corresponding to the entire national territory.

Parties and candidates

The major parties that partook in the election, and their EP list leaders, were:

Opinion polling

The following table shows the opinion polls of voting intention of the Portuguese voters before the election. Those parties that are listed were represented in the EU parliament (1994-1999). Included is also the result of the Portuguese EP elections in 1994 and 1999 for reference.

Note, until 2000, the publication of opinion polls in the last week of the campaign was forbidden.

Date Released Polling Firm PS PSD CDS–PP CDU Others Lead
13 Jun 1994 1999 EP election 43.1
12 seats 		31.1
9 seats 		8.2
2 seats 		10.3
2 seats 		7.3
0 seats 		12.0
6 Jun 1999 Público 48.3 31.4 — — 20.3 16.9
4 Jun 1999 Euroexpansão 54.6 30.8 — — 14.6 23.8
2 Jun 1999 Diário de Notícias 52.2 35.9 — — 11.9 16.3
2 Jun 1999 Semanário 49.7 33.6 — — 16.7 16.1
2 Jun 1999 Visão 44.0 33.0 — — 23.0 11.0
20 May 1999 Visão 45.0 40.0 — — 15.0 5.0
12 Jun 1994 1994 EP election 34.9
10 seats 		34.4
9 seats 		12.5
3 seats 		11.2
3 seats 		7.1
0 seats 		0.5

National summary of votes and seats

Summary of the results of Portugal's 13 June 1999 election to the European Parliament
National party European
party 		Main candidate Votes % +/– Seats +/–
Socialist Party (PS) PES Mário Soares 1,493,146 43.07 8.20 Increase 12 2 Increase
Social Democratic Party (PSD) EPP José Pacheco Pereira 1,078,528 31.11 3.28 Decrease 9 0 Steady
Democratic Unitarian Coalition (CDU)
• Communist Party (PCP)
• Ecologist Party (PEV) 		GUE/NGL Ilda Figueiredo 357,671 10.32 0.87 Decrease 2
2
0
1 Decrease
0 Steady
People's Party (CDS–PP) UFE Paulo Portas 283,067 8.16 4.29 Decrease 2 1 Decrease
Left Bloc (BE) None Miguel Portas 61,920 1.79 new 0 new
Workers' Communist Party (PCTP/MRPP) None António Garcia Pereira 30,446 0.88 0.09 Increase 0 0 Steady
People's Monarchist Party (PPM) None - 16,182 0.45 0.20 Increase 0 0 Steady
Earth Party (MPT) ELDR Paulo Trancoso 13,924 0.40 0.03 Decrease 0 0 Steady
National Solidarity Party (PSN) None - 8,413 0.24 0.13 Decrease 0 0 Steady
Workers Party of Socialist Unity (POUS) None Carmelinda Pereira 5,565 0.16 0.06 Increase 0 0 Steady
Democratic Party of the Atlantic (PDA) None - 5,089 0.15 0.08 Decrease 0 0 Steady
Valid votes 3,353,951 96.74
Blank and invalid votes 113,134 3.26
Totals 3,467,085 100.00 — 25 0 Steady
Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout 8,681,854 39.93 4.39 Increase
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
Vote share
PS   43.07%
PSD   31.11%
CDU   10.32%
CDS-PP   8.16%
BE   1.79%
PCTP/MRPP   0.88%
Others   1.43%
Blank/Invalid   3.27%
Seats
PS   48.00%
PSD   36.00%
CDU   8.00%
CDS-PP   8.00%

Distribution by European group

Summary of political group distribution in the 5th European Parliament (1999–2004)
Groups Parties Seats Total %
Party of European Socialists (PES) 12 12 48.00
European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP–ED) 9 9 36.00
European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) 2 2 8.00
Union for Europe (UFE) 2 2 8.00
Total 25 25 100.00

Maps

References

  1. Comissão Nacional de Eleições - Deputados
  2. "Elecciones al Parlamento Europeo: Resultados por países 1979 - 2014". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2017.

See also

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