Next Azorean regional election

The next Azorean regional election will be held on or before 22 October 2028,^[2] to determine the composition of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Portugal. The election will replace all 57 members of the Azores Assembly, and the new members will then elect the President of the Autonomous Region.

Next Azorean regional election

← 2024 No later than 22 October 2028
57 seats to the Legislative Assembly of the Azores[1] 29 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Leader José Manuel Bolieiro Francisco César José Pacheco Party PSD PS CHEGA Alliance PSD/CDS/PPM Leader since 14 December 2019[a] 29 June 2024 23 April 2022 Leader's seat São Miguel — São Miguel Last election 26 seats, 42.1% 23 seats, 35.9% 5 seats, 9.2% Seats needed 3 6 24   Leader António Lima Hugo Almeida Pedro Neves Party BE IL PAN Leader since 14 July 2018 2 November 2024 2019 Leader's seat Compensatory list — Compensatory list Last election 1 seat, 2.5% 1 seat, 2.1% 1 seat, 1.6% Seats needed 28 28 28
Incumbent President José Manuel Bolieiro PSD

President José Manuel Bolieiro, from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) leads a minority coalition government with the CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP) and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM).^[3] The parties in the coalition government have contested the previous election in an electoral coalition.

Background

Leadership changes and challenges

Socialist Party

A few weeks after the February 2024 election, Vasco Cordeiro announced his intention to not run for another term as party leader.^[4] A leadership ballot was called for 28 and 29 June 2024.^[5] Only one candidate was on the ballot, Francisco César, son of former President of the Regional Government Carlos César.^[6] As expected, Francisco César was easily elected with 93 percent of the votes:

Ballot: 28 and 29 June 2024

Candidate		Votes	%
	Francisco César		93.3
Blank/Invalid ballots			6.7
Turnout
Source: Expresso

Liberal Initiative

The Liberal Initiative held a leadership ballot on 1 and 2 November 2024.^[7] Nuno Barata, IL-Azores regional leader and regional parliament member decided not to run for another term as regional leader. Hugo Almeida was the sole candidate on the ballot.^[7] On 2 November 2024, Hugo Almeida was elected with 82 percent of the delegates votes:^[8]

Ballot: 1 and 2 November 2024

Candidate		Votes	%
	Hugo Almeida	18	81.8
Abstentions		4	18.2
Turnout		22
Source:[8]

Electoral system

The Azores regional parliament elects 57 members through a proportional system in which the 9 islands elect a number of MPs proportional to the number of registered voters. MPs are allocated by using the D'Hondt method. 5 members are also elected for a Compensation constituency. Current distribution of MPs by constituency:

Constituency	Total MPs	Registered voters
Corvo	2
Faial	4
Flores	3
Graciosa	3
Pico	4
Santa Maria	3
São Jorge	3
São Miguel	20
Terceira	10
Compensation	5
Total	57

The next regional election is scheduled to take place between 28 September and 28 October 2028, so it must be held no later than 22 October 2028 if the legislature lasts its full 4-year term.^[2]

Parties

Current composition

The table below lists parties represented in the Legislative Assembly of the Azores before the election.

Name			Ideology	Leader	2024 result		Status
					%	Seats
	PPD/PSD	Social Democratic Party Partido Social Democrata	Liberal conservatism	José Manuel Bolieiro	42.1%	23 / 57	Governing coalition
	CDS–PP	CDS – People's Party Centro Democrático Social – Partido Popular	Christian democracy	Artur Lima		2 / 57
	PPM	People's Monarchist Party Partido Popular Monárquico	Monarchism	Paulo Estêvão		1 / 57
	PS	Socialist Party Partido Socialista	Social democracy	Francisco César	35.9%	23 / 57	Opposition
	CH	CHEGA! Chega!	National conservatism	José Pacheco	9.2%	5 / 57
	BE	Left Bloc Bloco de Esquerda	Democratic socialism	António Lima	2.5%	1 / 57
	IL	Liberal Initiative Iniciativa Liberal	Classical liberalism	Hugo Almeida	2.1%	1 / 57
	PAN	People Animals Nature Pessoas-Animais-Natureza	Animal welfare	Pedro Neves	1.6%	1 / 57

Opinion polls

Polling firm/Link	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout									O	Lead
2025 legislative election	18 May 2025	—	43.8	36.6 (25)	23.6 (15)	22.9 (12)	2.1 (1)	3.5 (2)	1.3 (0)	1.2 (0)	2.5 (1)	6.4 (1)	13.0
2024 EP election	9 Jun 2024	—	24.2	38.4 (25)	32.3 (22)	8.1 (4)	3.7 (2)	6.1 (3)	1.3 (0)	1.7 (0)	2.4 (1)	6.0 (0)	6.1
2024 legislative election	10 Mar 2024	—	46.2	39.8 (26)	29.2 (20)	15.8 (8)	3.4 (1)	2.7 (1)	1.6 (0)	1.1 (0)	1.7 (1)	4.8 (0)	10.6
2024 regional election	4 Feb 2024	—	50.3	42.1 26	35.9 23	9.2 5	2.5 1	2.1 1	1.6 1	1.6 0	0.6 0	3.1 0	6.2

Notes

1. As leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).