Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 26 January 1986, with a second round on 16 February.
This was closest presidential election ever held in Portugal and was won by the Socialist Mário Soares, who initially had no more than 8 percent in opinion polls.
The first round was easily won by Freitas do Amaral, supported by all the right-wing parties, with 46% of the votes. Soares advanced to the second round, gathering 25% of the votes, by beating the other two left-wing candidates: former prime minister Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, the first woman to be a candidate for the Portuguese presidency, however polling at just 7% of the votes, and socialist dissident Salgado Zenha with 21% of the votes. Both candidates, directly or indirectly, supported Soares in the second round. In the first round, Soares did not achieve the majority of the votes in any district, as the left-wing strongholds in the south of Portugal voted for Zenha due to his support from the Communist Party.
As results for the second round were counted, the urban vote, traditionally more left-wing, overcame the early lead of Freitas do Amaral, with Soares narrowly winning by a 51 to 49 percent margin, less than 140,000 votes difference, and with the map showing a clear North-South divide. Voter turnout was strong in both rounds, 75% and 78%, respectively. Mário Soares was sworn in as president on 9 March 1986, the first civilian to hold the post (not counting caretakers) in 60 years. From 1986 until 2006, the PS supported candidates won every presidential election in Portugal.
For 40 years this would be the only time a direct Portuguese presidential election was decided in a runoff, until 2026.
Background
After being re-elected with 56% of the votes in December 1980, president António Ramalho Eanes was constitutionally barred from running for a third term. Like in his first term, Eanes second term as president was marked by deep economic and social problems, and government instability. Following the death of prime minister Sá Carneiro, just days before his re-election, Eanes nominated the incumbent center-right Democratic Alliance's (AD) choice for prime minister, Francisco Pinto Balsemão. Just like with Sá Carneiro, Eanes had a very bad relationship with Balsemão and, later, also with Soares, aggravated by a constitutional reform in 1982 aimed to remove powers from the president. Balsemão resigned in late 1982, and Eanes refused to nominate a new PSD prime minister, deciding to dissolve parliament and call an election. The election, on 25 April 1983, resulted in a PS minority win, with Mário Soares forming a coalition with the PSD, called the Central Bloc, being forced to request a new tough and difficult bailout from the IMF to save the country's finances. By the end of Eanes' term as head of state, Portugal became a full member of the European Economic Community, while the president's influence in the party system increased, with the creation of the Eanist inspired Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), which achieved a surprisingly strong third place in the October 1985 legislative election.
Pre-campaign
In the follow-up for the presidential election, several prominent figures were mentioned as potential presidential candidates. Former prime minister Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo was seen as a strong contender, leading several polls until late 1985, announcing her candidacy during the summer of 1985, and hoping for the backing from president Eanes, something that was subsequently thwarted. Prime Minister Soares' candidacy was also the subject of much speculation, with him preparing it himself and expecting the support from the PSD, given the Central Bloc coalition. However, the PSD was deeply divided on this issue, having no strategy or candidate, following the refusal of general Firmino Miguel, and being split between supporting Soares or Diogo Freitas do Amaral. The election of Aníbal Cavaco Silva as party leader, in May 1985, ended any chance of the PSD supporting Soares, with Cavaco officially announcing the party's support for Freitas do Amaral.
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, a candidate needs a majority of votes to become elected. If no candidate gets this majority a second round will take place between the two most voted candidates.
Candidates
Withdrew candidacy
- Ângelo Veloso – incumbent Member of the Assembly of the Republic (1975–1990); supported by the Portuguese Communist Party, left the race to support Salgado Zenha;
- Manuel da Costa Braz – former Minister of Home Affairs (1974–1975; 1976–1978; 1979–1980); former Ombudsman (1975–1976).
Unsuccessful candidacies
There were also three candidates rejected by the Portuguese Constitutional Court for not complying with the legal requirements:
- Carmelinda Pereira – former Member of the Assembly of the Republic (1975–1979); supported by the Workers' Party of Socialist Unity;
- Luís Carlos Franco;
- Álvaro Manuel Nunes.
Declined
- Mário Firmino Miguel – general officer, former Defense Minister in 1974 and between 1976 and 1978;
- Daniel Proença de Carvalho – lawyer, former Minister of Social Communication between 1978 and 1979, RTP Chairman between 1980 and 1982. Later became campaign manager for Diogo Freitas do Amaral.
Campaign period
Issues
The 1986 presidential campaign was one of the most polarizing in Portugal's democratic history. The center-right/right-wing presented a unified candidate, Diogo Freitas do Amaral, while the center-left/left-wing was divided between three candidates: Soares, Salgado Zenha and Pintasilgo. Soares' unpopularity during his term as prime minister, between 1983 and 1985, when several austerity policies were inacted because of the International Monetary Fund bailout leading to one of the worst social crises in Portuguese democracy, plus the long feud between Soares and the Portuguese Communist Party, created a deep divide on the left. Soares' candidacy was further damaged by divisions within the Socialist Party, with his longtime friend and party ally Francisco Salgado Zenha announcing his candidacy with the endorsement of outgoing president António Ramalho Eanes, and later also with the support from the Communists, whose candidate, Ângelo Veloso, withdrew from the race some days before the first round. The tensions on the left side of the political spectrum reached a breaking point on 15 January 1986, when Soares was violently assaulted by Communist supporters in Marinha Grande, a moment that was seen as a turning point in favour of Soares.
On the first round, held on 26 January, Freitas and Soares advanced to a runoff. Soares' passage to the runoff created a dilemma for the Communist Party, taking into account the acrimonious relationship between both. Despite this background, the Communists decided to support Soares in the runoff, with party leader Álvaro Cunhal saying "if necessary, cover [Soares'] face on the ballot with one hand and vote with the other". Freitas' campaign used this support from the PCP to attack Soares, accusing him of contradicting himself by accepting the support of the Communists, while Soares accused Freitas of lack of political awareness before the 25 April 1974 revolution, pointing that Freitas "showed solidarity through silence" for the Estado Novo regime.
Opinion polls
First round
Exit poll
Second round
Exit poll