Ecologist Party "The Greens"

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The Ecologist Party "The Greens" (Portuguese: Partido Ecologista "Os Verdes", pron. IPA[pɐɾ'tidu ekulu'ʒiʃtɐ uʒ 'veɾdɨʃ], or PEV) is a Portuguese red-green party, member of the European Greens and a founding member of the European Federation of Green Parties.

It was the first Portuguese ecologist party and since its foundation, in 1982, the PEV is closely related to the Portuguese Communist Party, and now (as of 2005), after participating allied with it in the Unitarian Democratic Coalition in several elections, the PEV holds many mandates in local assemblies and two seats in the Assembly of the Republic.

The Party's youth wing is the Ecolojovem. It edits a newspaper named Folha Verde and its headquarters are located in Lisbon.

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[edit] History and general info

The Party was founded 1982, originally named Movimento Ecologista Português - Partido "Os Verdes", by a group of Portuguese citizens interested in the promotion of the ecologist movement in the Portuguese society.

In the end of the 1970s, the World was facing new ecological problems, such as the greenhouse effect and the depletion of the ozone layer and the lack of awareness of this among the Portuguese society, along with the lack of an organized Ecologist movement led to the foundation of the Ecologist Party "The Greens" in order to put such problems in the political agenda.

The Party created regional groups right after its foundation, groups that never stopped growing since then. The growth of the Party throughout the country allowed many members to integrate the electoral lists of the CDU, some being elected to very different tasks. Currently (as of 2005), The PEV has several members elected in Municipal Assemblies and Parish Assemblies and two members elected in the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese parliament). Those two members are Heloísa Apolónia and Francisco Madeira Lopes.

There is widespread criticism on its close ties to the Communist Party, given that PEV never applied to elections on its own.

The PEV is also present in the National Electoral Commission and also in the National Council of Education.

The youth wing of the Party is the Ecolojovem, founded in 1989, which is a founding member of the Federation of Young European Greens.

The PEV edits a newspaper, the Folha Verde (Green Leaf), which received several press prizes for its unique design and style.

[edit] Electoral results

CDU results in the local election of 2005. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)
CDU results in the local election of 2005. (Azores and Madeira are not shown)

In elections, the PEV is closely allied with the Portuguese Communist Party, first in the Unitarian Democratic Coalition. This explains a nickname given to the Os Verdes by some: "melancias" (lit. watermelons): green outside, red inside.

[edit] Results in parliamentary elections

Results in Parliamentary Elections
(year links to election page)
Year Coalition Type of Election Voting % Mandates
1987
CDU
Portuguese Parliament
685,109
12.2%
31 (2)
1991
CDU
Portuguese Parliament
501,840
08.8%
17 (2)
1995
CDU
Portuguese Parliament
504,007
08.6%
15 (2)
1999
CDU
Portuguese Parliament
483,716
09.0%
17 (2)
2002
CDU
Portuguese Parliament
378,640
07.0%
12 (2)
2005
CDU
Portuguese Parliament
432,009
07.6%
14 (2)

(source: Portuguese Electoral Commission)

Note:

  • In brackets is the number of MPs elected by the PEV in the total elected by CDU.
  • In 1991 the overall number of MPs changed from the original 250 to 230.

[edit] Results in local elections

Results in Local Elections
(year links to election page)
Year Coalition Type of Election Voting % Mandates
1985
APU
Local
942,147
19.4%
305
1989
CDU
Local
633,682
12.8%
252
1993
CDU
Local
689,928
12.8%
246
1997
CDU
Local
643,956
12.0%
236
2001
CDU
Local
557,481
10.6%
202
2005
CDU
Local
590,496
11.0%
203

(source: Portuguese Electoral Commission)

[edit] Results in European Parliament elections

Results in European Elections
(year links to election page)
Year Coalition Type of Election Voting % Mandates
1987
CDU
European Parliament
646,640
11.5%
3
1989
CDU
European Parliament
594,961
14.4%
4
1994
CDU
European Parliament
339,283
11.2%
3
1999
CDU
European Parliament
357,575
10.3%
2
2004
CDU
European Parliament
309,406
09.1%
2

(source: Portuguese Electoral Commission)

Note:

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links