Portugal: President, 24 January 2016

At stake in this election:     

• The office of President of Portugal

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 9 March 2006)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da COSTA (since 24 November 2015)
• Assembly: Portugal has a unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República) with 230 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority popular vote in a two-round vote to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President to serve a 4-year term.*
• In the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República), 226 members are elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote, and 4 members representing Portugese living abroad are elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms.

*The President usually appoints the leader of the majority party or coalition as Prime Minister.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Candidate: Henrique NETO
  • Supporting Party: Socialist Party / Partido Socialista (PS)
• Candidate: António Sampaio da NÓVOA
  • Supporting Party: Independent
• Candidate: Cândido FERREIRA
  • Supporting Party: Independent
• Candidate: Edgar SILVA
  • Supporting Party: Portuguese Communist Party / Partido Comunista Português (PCP)
• Candidate: Jorge SEQUEIRA
  • Supporting Party: Independent
• Candidate: Vitorino SILVA
  • Supporting Party: Independent
• Candidate: Marisa MATIAS
  • Supporting Party: Left Bloc / Bloco de Esquerda (BE)
• Candidate: Maria de BELÉM
  • Supporting Party: Socialist Party / Partido Socialista (PS)
• Candidate: Marcelo de SOUSA
  • Supporting Party: Social Democratic Party / Partido Social Democrata (PSD)
• Candidate: Paulo de MORAIS
  • Supporting Party: Independent

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,825,309 (2015 est.)[1]
• Registered voters: 9,682,553 (2015)[2]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 4,841,277 (2015 est.)[3]
• Is Portugal a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (since 24 April 1980)[4]
• Has Portugal ratified CEDAW: Yes (30 July 1980) [5]
• Gender Quota:  Yes[6]
• Female Candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Legislators: 61 (27%) of 230 seats in the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República)[7]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 43[8]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A[9]

Disability Data:

• Is Portugal a signatory to CRPD: Yes (since 30 March 2007)[10]
• Has Portugal ratified CRPD: Yes (23 September 2009)[11]
• Population with a disability: 1,623,796 (2015 est.)[12]

[1]  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html

[2]  http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/2687/

[3] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html

[4] https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-8&chapter=4&lang=en

[5] https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-8&chapter=4&lang=en

[6] http://www.quotaproject.org/uid/search.cfm#

[7] http://www.quotaproject.org/uid/search.cfm#

[8] http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components

[9] http://genderindex.org/countries

[10] https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=iv-15&chapter=4&lang=en

[11] https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=iv-15&chapter=4&lang=en

[12]  http://www.electionaccess.org/en/resources/countries/pt/all/