1987 European Parliament election in Portugal
19 July 1987
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24 seats to the European Parliament | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 72.4% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A European Parliament election was held in Portugal on 19 July 1987.[1] It was the election of all 24[1] MEPs representing the Portugal constituency for the remainder of the 1984–1989 term of the European Parliament. Portugal had acceded to the European Community on 1 January 1986 and had been represented in the European Parliament by 24 appointed delegates until elections could be held. These elections took place on the same day of the legislative elections of 1987.
The Social Democrats (PSD) won the 1st European election by a landslide over the Socialists. The PSD won more than 37 percent of the votes, 15 points ahead of the PS. Note that a large chunk of the PSD vote in the 1987 legislative elections, held simultaneously with the European election, was from CDS voters that voted PSD in the general election and CDS in the EU elections. Nonetheless, the CDS won 15 percent of the votes, compared with the 4 percent in the general election ballot. Together, the center-right parties won 53 percent of the votes.
The Socialists, headed by former PM Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, suffered a huge defeat, polling just 22 percent, matching their general election score. The Communist/Green alliance, Democratic Unity Coalition, polled 4th place and won 11.5 percent of the votes. Finally, the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), also suffered a very heavy defeat, winning just 4 percent of the votes and electing a sole member for the EU Parliament.
Turnout in these elections was quite high, with 72.4 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 1987 EU election, Portugal had 24 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:[2]
- Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU), Ângelo Veloso
- Socialist Party (PS), Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo
- Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), José Medeiros Ferreira
- Social Democratic Party (PSD), Pedro Santana Lopes
- Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), Francisco Lucas Pires
- People's Monarchist Party (PPM), Miguel Esteves Cardoso
Campaign period
Party slogans
| Party or alliance | Original slogan | English translation | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSD | « Juntos vamos ganhar » | "Together we will win" | [3] | |
| PS | « Portugal para todos » | "Portugal for all" | [4] | |
| CDS | « Na hora Europeia » | "In European time" | [5] | |
| CDU | « Para defender Portugal » | "To defend Portugal" | [6] | |
| PRD | « Mais Portugal » | "More Portugal" | [7] | |
Results
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party | LDR | 2,111,828 | 37.45 | 10 | ||
| Socialist Party | SOC | 1,267,672 | 22.48 | 6 | ||
| Democratic and Social Centre | EPP | 868,718 | 15.40 | 4 | ||
| Unitary Democratic Coalition | COM | 648,700 | 11.50 | 3 | ||
| Democratic Renewal Party | EDA[8] | 250,158 | 4.44 | 1 | ||
| People's Monarchist Party | NI | 155,990 | 2.77 | 0 | ||
| Popular Democratic Union | NI | 52,835 | 0.94 | 0 | ||
| Christian Democratic Party | NI | 40,812 | 0.72 | 0 | ||
| Revolutionary Socialist Party | NI | 29,009 | 0.51 | 0 | ||
| Portuguese Democratic Movement | NI | 27,678 | 0.49 | 0 | ||
| Communist Party (Reconstructed) | NI | 24,060 | 0.43 | 0 | ||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist Party | NI | 19,475 | 0.35 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5,496,935 | 100.00 | 24 | |||
| Valid votes | 5,496,935 | 97.47 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 74,240 | 1.32 | ||||
| Blank votes | 68,475 | 1.21 | ||||
| Total votes | 5,639,650 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 7,787,603 | 72.42 | ||||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições | ||||||
Distribution by European group
| Groups | Parties | Seats | Total | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (LDR) |
|
10 | 10 | 41.67 | |
| Socialist Group (SOC) |
|
6 | 6 | 25.00 | |
| European People's Party (EPP) | 4 | 4 | 16.67 | ||
| Communists and Allies (COM) | 3 | 3 | 12.50 | ||
| European Democratic Alliance (EDA) |
|
1 | 1 | 4.17 | |
| Total | 24 | 24 | 100.00 | ||
Maps
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Most voted political force by municipality.
References
- ^ a b "Results of the 19 July 1987 election of the 24 delegates from Portugal to the European Parliament" (in Portuguese). Portuguese Electoral Commission. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
- ^ Comissão Nacional de Eleições - Deputados
- ^ "Cavaco Silva condicionou a campanha de 1987, acusa Santana Lopes". Público (in Portuguese). 1 May 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Campanha do PS". RTP (in Portuguese). 9 July 1987. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Pires, Francisco Lucas". Ephemera (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Eleições 87 – Parte III". RTP (in Portuguese). 19 July 1987. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Campanha do PRD". RTP (in Portuguese). 11 July 1987. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Boissieu, Laurent de. "Élections européennes Portugal". Europe Politique (in French). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ "Elecciones al Parlamento Europeo: Resultados por países 1979 - 2014". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2017.