1976 Portuguese presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 27 June 1976.

1976 Portuguese presidential election

← 1972 27 June 1976 1980 →
Turnout	75.47%
Candidate António Ramalho Eanes Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho Party Independent Supported by: PS PPD CDS MRPP Independent Supported by: UDP MES FSP PRP-BR Popular vote 2,967,137 792,760 Percentage 61.59% 16.46%   IND Candidate José Pinheiro de Azevedo Octávio Pato Party Independent PCP Popular vote 692,147 365,586 Percentage 14.37% 7.59%
Results by district Results by municipality Eanes   30-40%   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%   >90% Carvalho   30-40%   40-50%   50-60%   60-70% Pato   30-40%   40-50%
President before election Francisco da Costa Gomes Independent Elected President António Ramalho Eanes Independent

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. Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, a key figure during the Carnation Revolution in 1974, was also a candidate.

Electoral system

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 7,500 and 15,000 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

Official candidates

• António Ramalho Eanes, Military officer, Main leader against the Coup of 25 November 1975, former chairman of RTP, supported by the Socialist Party, Democratic People's Party, Democratic and Social Centre and the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party;
• José Pinheiro de Azevedo, Navy officer, Prime Minister between 1975 and 1976, Independent candidate;
• Octávio Pato, supported by the Portuguese Communist Party;
• Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Military officer, Independent candidate supported by the Popular Democratic Union, Movement of Socialist Left, People's Socialist Front and the Revolutionary Party of the Proletariat – Revolutionary Brigades;

Unsuccessful candidacies

There was also one candidate rejected by the Portuguese Constitutional Court for not complying with the legal requirements:

• Venceslau Pompílio da Cruz;

Campaign period

Party slogans

Candidate		Original slogan	English translation	Refs
	António Ramalho Eanes	« Muitos prometem... Eanes cumpre » « Candidato de Portugal »	"Many promise ... Eanes delivers" "Portugal's Candidate"	[1]
	Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho	« O 25 de Abril à Presidência »	"April 25 to the Presidency"	[1]
	José Pinheiro de Azevedo	« Vota Pinheiro de Azevedo »	"Vote Pinheiro de Azevedo"	[1]
	Octávio Pato	« Pela democracia e o socialismo »	"For democracy and socialism"	[1]

Candidates' debates

1976 Portuguese presidential election debates
Date	Organisers	Moderator(s)	P  Present    A  Absent invitee  N  Non-invitee
			Eanes	Otelo	Azevedo	Pato	Refs
9 Jun 1976	RTP1	Joaquim Letria	P	P	P	P	[2][3][4]

Opinion polls

Polling firm	Date conducted	Sample size	Eanes	Otelo	Azevedo	Pato	Others	Lead
Election results	26 Jun 1976	—	61.6	16.5	14.4	7.6	—	45.1
Expresso[a]	9 Jun 1976	—	53.2	17.7	22.6	4.8	1.7	30.6

Results

National summary

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	António Ramalho Eanes	Independent supported by the PS, PPD, CDS and the PCTP	2,967,137	61.59
	Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho	Independent supported by the UDP, MES, FSP and the PRP-BR	792,760	16.46
	José Pinheiro de Azevedo	Independent	692,147	14.37
	Octávio Pato	PCP	365,586	7.59
Total			4,817,630	100.00
Valid votes			4,817,630	98.70
Invalid votes			20,253	0.41
Blank votes			43,242	0.89
Total votes			4,881,125	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			6,467,480	75.47
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Results by district

District		Eanes		Otelo		Azevedo		Pato		Turnout
		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Aveiro	217,589	74.47%	20,634	6.97%	46,346	15.86%	7,866	2.69%	77.38%
	Azores	30,646	86.06%	9,510	9.01%	17,076	16.18%	2,562	2.43%	71.13%
	Beja	36,219	34.59%	34,339	32.80%	7,296	6.97%	26,844	25.64%	74.37%
	Braga	218,459	70.20%	25,089	8.06%	59,093	18.99%	8,550	2.75%	82.34%
	Bragança	67,593	82.59%	2,725	3.33%	9,357	11.43%	2,167	2.65%	68.71%
	Castelo Branco	98,828	76.25%	14,393	11.33%	10,927	8.61%	4,833	3.81%	73.66%
	Coimbra	147,906	71.93%	19,801	9.63%	29,038	14.12%	8,887	4.32%	67.51%
	Évora	39,847	36.03%	38,509	34.82%	10,500	9.50%	21,726	19.65%	81.28%
	Faro	87,590	52.88%	41,018	24.76%	24,331	14.69%	12,698	7.67%	70.81%
	Guarda	88,451	82.87%	4,528	4.24%	11,194	10.49%	2,558	2.40%	72.64%
	Leiria	156,404	76.63%	18,682	9.15%	20,109	9.85%	8,915	4.37%	73.26%
	Lisbon	582,103	53.55%	259,915	23.91%	132,600	12.20%	112,395	10.34%	75.93%
	Madeira	76,417	72.39%	9,510	9.01%	17,076	16.18%	2,562	2.43%	74.81%
	Portalegre	47,665	56.12%	14,122	16.63%	10,893	12.82%	12,258	14.43%	78.24%
	Porto	450,236	60.43%	86,356	11.59%	169,940	22.81%	38,548	5.17%	80.76%
	Santarém	141,397	58.68%	48,370	20.07%	31,564	13.10%	19,634	8.15%	73.53%
	Setúbal	96,739	29.87%	135,495	41.83%	31,166	9.62%	60,519	18.68%	77.78%
	Viana do Castelo	87,136	74.64%	8,075	6.92%	17,174	14.71%	4,362	3.74%	72.36%
	Vila Real	91,261	81.59%	4,552	4.07%	12,604	11.27%	3,433	3.07%	67.59%
	Viseu	155,520	81.19%	7,447	3.90%	25,071	13.09%	3,490	1.82%	69.81%
Source: SGMAI Presidential Election Results

Maps

• 
  Strongest candidate by electoral district.
• 
  Strongest candidate by municipality: Eanes - magenta; Otelo - dark red; Octávio Pato - red.

Notes

1. Results presented here exclude undecideds (27%), did not respond (10%) and vote none (1%). With their inclusion results are: António Ramalho Eanes: 33%; Pinheiro de Azevedo: 14%; Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho: 11%; Octávio Pato: 3%; Venceslau Pompílio da Cruz: 1%.