1969 Portuguese legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Portugal on 26 October 1969.[1] The elections were announced on 12 August, and were the first under Prime Minister Marcello Caetano, appointed in the previous year to replace long-term Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, who had been left incapacitated after a stroke. The quasi-sovereign National Union won all seats with an official turnout of 62.5%.

1969 Portuguese National Assembly election

← 1965 26 October 1969 1973 →

All 130 seats of the National Assembly, elected by plurality-at-large voting
65 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Marcello caetano.jpg
Francisco Pereira de Moura - A Capital (22Out1969).png
Retrato de Mário Soares - San Payo (Fundação Mário Soares).png
Leader Marcello Caetano Francisco Pereira de Moura Mario Soares
Party UN CDE CEUD
Last election 130 seats none none
Seats won 130 0 0
Seat change Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0
Popular vote 981,263 114,745 16,863
Percentage 88.0% 10.3% 1.5%

Prime Minister before election

Marcello Caetano
UN

Prime Minister after election

Marcello Caetano
UN

Electoral system

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The constitution of 1933 stated that elections were to be held in all of Portugal's 18 constituencies by majority party list system, with all seats in each constituency going to the party list with a plurality of votes. In order to select a specific candidate, voters were formally able to strike out names.

The electoral law of 5 December 1958 (rearranged to allow for the National Assembly to appoint the president) guaranteed universal suffrage for all mature, literate citizens, but unofficially curtailed female participation. All natural-born nationals residing in Portugal for the previous five years were allowed to stand for election. The Chamber of Corporations, consisting of 200 members or more, was appointed by the government following the election to the National Assembly.

Although Caetano had made some effort to blunt the harsher edges of the regime, the election took place in an environment little different from the past 40 years. Numerous opposition candidates bowed out of the race prematurely due to reportedly extensive harassment and voter manipulation. After the election, the government banned the two opposition "electoral commissions" and ordered them dissolved.[2]

Parties

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The major parties involved and the respective leaders:

Results

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Marcelo Caetano casting his ballot.
 
Mário Soares and his wife, Maria Barroso, casting their ballots.
 
Party Votes % Seats
National Union 981,263 87.99 130
Democratic Electoral Commission 114,745 10.29 0
United Democratic Electoral Commission 16,863 1.51 0
Monarchist Electoral Commission 1,324 0.12 0
Invalid/blank votes 1,053
Total 1,115,248 100 130
Registered voters/turnout 1,784,341 62.5
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union

References

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  1. ^ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1542 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Portugal Inter-Parliamentary Union

See also

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