Portuguese legislative election, 1985
Portuguese legislative election, 1985
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The Portuguese legislative election of 1985 took place on October 6. In June of the same year, the former Prime-Minister, Mário Soares, had resigned from the job due to the lack of parliamentary support, the government was composed by a coalition of the two major parties, the center-right Social Democratic and the center-left Socialist, in what was called the Central Bloc, however this was an unstable balance of forces and several members of each party opposed such alliance. The new leader of the Social Democratic Party, Cavaco Silva, elected in May, was among those that never supported such alliance, and short after being elected leader of the party made the coalition fall in July.
A new election was called by the President and the Social Democrats won with a short majority and Cavaco became the Prime-Minister. Meanwhile, a new party had been founded by supporters of the President Ramalho Eanes, the Democratic Renovator Party, led by Hermínio Martinho that surprisingly gained 45 MPs in the election and became the parliamentary support of the Cavaco's government until 1987, when it removed its support, making Cavaco fall. The Communists and the Socialists lost votes and MPs and the left would only return to the government ten years later, in 1995.
The major parties involved and the respective leaders:
Aníbal Cavaco Silva, leader of the Social Democratic Party, was nominated Prime Minister for the first time.
National summary of votes and seats
e • d Summary of the 6 October 1985 Assembly of the Republic elections results
| Parties |
Votes |
% |
± |
Seats |
| 1983 |
1985 |
± |
% |
± |
|
Social Democratic |
1,732,288 |
29.87 |
2.7 |
75 |
88 |
13 |
35.20 |
5.2 |
|
Socialist |
1,204,321 |
20.77 |
15.3 |
101 |
57 |
44 |
22.80 |
17.6 |
|
Democratic Renovator |
1,038,893 |
17.92 |
— |
— |
45 |
— |
18.00 |
— |
|
United People Alliance |
898,281 |
15.49 |
2.6 |
44 |
38 |
6 |
15.20 |
2.4 |
|
Democratic and Social Centre |
577,580 |
9.96 |
2.6 |
30 |
22 |
8 |
8.80 |
3.2 |
|
People's Democratic Union |
73,401 |
1.27 |
0.8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
|
Christian Democratic Party |
41,831 |
0.72 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
|
Revolutionary Socialist Party |
35,238 |
0.61 |
0.4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
|
PCTP/MRPP |
19,943 |
0.34 |
0.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
|
Workers Party of Socialist Unity |
19,085 |
0.33 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
|
Communist Party (Reconstructed) |
12,749 |
0.22 |
— |
— |
0 |
— |
0.00 |
— |
| Total valid |
5,653,610 |
97.49 |
0.1 |
250 |
250 |
0 |
100.00 |
0.0 |
| Blank ballots |
48,709 |
0.84 |
0.1 |
|
| Invalid ballots |
96,610 |
1.67 |
0.1 |
| Total (turnout 74.16%) |
5,798,929 |
100.00 |
3.6 |
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições |
References
External links
See also