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 the Prime Minister Marcello Caetano, appointed in the previous year to replace the long-term Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, who had been left incapacitated after a stroke. The ruling National Union won all seats with an official turnout of 62.5%.

1969 Portuguese legislative election

← 1965 26 October 1969 1973 →
All 130 seats in the National Assembly 66 seats needed for a majority
First party   Leader Marcello Caetano Party UN Seats won 130 Popular vote 981,263 Percentage 88.07%
Prime Minister before election Marcello Caetano UN Prime Minister after election Marcello Caetano UN

Electoral system

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

The major parties involved and the respective leaders:

• Democratic Electoral Commission (CDE), Francisco Pereira de Moura
• Monarchist Electoral Commission (CEM), Henrique Barrilaro Ruas
• National Union (UN), Marcello Caetano
• United Democratic Electoral Commission (CEUD), Mário Soares

Results

Marcelo Caetano casting his ballot.

Mário Soares and his wife, Maria Barroso, casting their ballots.

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	National Union	981,263	88.07	130
	Democratic Electoral Commission	114,745	10.30	0
	United Democratic Electoral Commission	16,863	1.51	0
	Monarchist Electoral Commission	1,324	0.12	0
Total		1,114,195	100.00	130
Valid votes		1,114,195	99.91
Invalid/blank votes		1,053	0.09
Total votes		1,115,248	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,784,341	62.50
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union