Leadership of 27 municipalities never changed political color

The leadership of 27 municipalities has never changed political color since the 1976 elections, the first in democracy, with the PSD holding 12 local authorities, the socialists dominating in nine municipalities, and the communists in six.

According to the accounting carried out by Lusa, this is the starting scenario for the local elections on October 12, after, in 2021, seven municipal councils changed parties for the first time since the elections that followed April 25, 1974.

There is also the case of the municipality of Odivelas, in the Lisbon district, which has always been presided over by the Socialist Party (PS), but was only created in 1998, after the separation of Loures. In Madeira, where the PSD has governed the regional executive since 1976 , there are four municipalities that have always remained loyal to the party, always with absolute majorities: Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, Calheta, and São Vicente.

The district of Viseu has always had PSD presidents in Penedono and Oliveira de Frades, although in some mandates the winning candidacy was in coalition with the CDS-PP.

In the district of Vila Real, two PSD municipalities never changed party affiliation: Boticas, where there were four mayors after the 25th of April, and Valpaços, where Francisco Tavares led for 28 years, serving seven terms, between 1985 and 2013.

He has also been a social democrat since 1976 as mayor of Arcos de Valdevez, in the district of Viana do Castelo, Santa Maria da Feira, district of Aveiro, Oleiros, district of Castelo Branco, and Mação, district of Santarém.

In the case of the Socialists, the Lisbon district boasts three municipalities with a president elected by the Socialist Party in each of the last five decades. This is the case of Alenquer, where Álvaro Pedro led the executive branch for 33 years (1976-2009), and Lourinhã, where José Manuel Custódio presided for 28 years, as well as Torres Vedras.

In the district of Faro, with a total of 16 municipalities, the PS has maintained the presidency of the councils of Olhão and Portimão and, in Portalegre, "pink" has been the predominant color in Gavião, which has had six PS mayors, and in Campo Maior, with seven socialist mayors.

In the districts of Porto and Coimbra, respectively, only one municipality maintains the same party, the PS, in power: Santo Tirso, which had Joaquim Couto as its leader for 23 years, and Condeixa-a-Nova, which has had four mayors since 1976.

The Communists hold the lead in Palmela, Seixal, and Santiago do Cacém, in the Setúbal district, almost always in coalition with various parties, such as FEPU, APU, and CDU (PCP/PEV). In the 1979 local elections, PCP-led coalitions won in the district's 13 municipalities, but the PS has been gaining ground over the past few decades.

In the Portalegre district, Avis has remained a communist stronghold since the first democratic and free local elections. The same is true in Arraiolos, in the Évora district, and in Serpa, in the Beja district.