Portuguese presidential election, 1976
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Turnout | 75.5% | |||||||||||||||
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This article is part of the series: |
Politics and government of Portugal |
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Portugal |
The Portuguese presidential election of 1976 was held on 27 June.
With a broad base of support that comprised the center-left and the center-right, Ramalho Eanes won the election on the first round and became the first elected President of Portugal after the Carnation Revolution.
The Portuguese Communist Party presented its own candidate, Octávio Pato, a well known anti-fascist. One of the major responsibles for the military operations during the Carnation Revolution, in 1974, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, was also a candidate.
Procedure
Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it is necessary to gather between 7500 and 15000 signatures and submit them to the Portuguese Constitutional Court.
According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a majority of votes. If no candidate gets this majority there will take place a second round between the two most voted candidates.
Candidates
- António Ramalho Eanes, Military officer, Main leader of the Coup of 25 November 1975, former chairman of RTP, supported by the Socialist Party, Social Democratic Party, Democratic and Social Centre and the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party;
- José Pinheiro de Azevedo, Navy officer, Prime Minister between 1975-1976, Independent candidate;
- Octávio Pato, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party;
- Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Military officer, Independent candidate;
Unsuccessful candidacies
There was also one candidate rejected by the Portuguese Constitutional Court for not complying with the legal requirements:
- Venceslau Pompílio da Cruz;
Results
Summary of the 27 June 1976 Portuguesepresidentialelection results
Candidates | Supporting parties | First round | ||
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Votes | % | |||
António Ramalho Eanes | Independent | 2,967,137 | 61.59 | |
Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho | Independent | 792,760 | 16.46 | |
José Pinheiro de Azevedo | Independent | 692,147 | 14.37 | |
Octávio Rodrigues Pato | Portuguese Communist Party | 365,586 | 7.59 | |
Total valid | 4,817,630 | 100.00 | ||
Blank ballots | 43,242 | 0.89 | ||
Invalid ballots | 20,253 | 0.41 | ||
Total (turnout 75.47%) | 4,881,125 | |||
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições |
References
- "CNE Resultados". Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Retrieved 17 May 2005.
- "Centro de Estudos do Pensamento Político". Retrieved 17 May 2005.