1999 European Parliament election in Portugal

An election of MEP representing Portugal constituency for the 1999–2004 term of the European Parliament was held on 13 June. It was part of the wider 1999 European election.

1999 European Parliament election in Portugal

← 1994 13 June 1999 2004 →

25 seats to the European Parliament
Turnout39.9% Increase 4.4 pp
  First party Second party
 
Mário Soares (2003) portrait.jpg
JosePachecoPereira.jpg
Leader Mário Soares Pacheco Pereira
Party PS PSD
Alliance PES EPP
Last election 10 seats, 34.9% 9 seats, 34.4%
Seats won 12 9
Seat change Increase 2 Steady 0
Popular vote 1,493,146 1,078,528
Percentage 43.1% 31.1%
Swing Increase 8.2 pp Decrease 3.3 pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Ilda Figueiredo 2011 (cropped).jpg
P Portas 2009.png
Leader Ilda Figueiredo Paulo Portas
Party CDU CDS–PP
Alliance GUE/NGL UFE
Last election 3 seats, 11.2% 3 seats, 12.5%
Seats won 2 2
Seat change Decrease 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 357,671 283,067
Percentage 10.3% 8.2%
Swing Decrease 0.9 pp Decrease 4.3 pp

In the runner up for the 1999 general elections, the Socialist Party (PS) won the EU elections by a landslide. The party, headed by its founder and former President of the Republic and Prime Minister Mário Soares, scored a convincing victory over the Social Democrats. The PS increased its share of vote more than 8 percent and won 2 more seats compared with 1994. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) had a bad performance, but was able to hold on to its 9 seats, but, at the same time, the party saw their share of vote drop to 31 percent, around 3 points lower than in 1994.

The Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) performed quite well, although it dropped compared with 1994. The Communist/Green alliance won more than 10 percent of the votes, a drop of around 1 point, and lost one seat but was able to reclaim the title of 3rd largest party. The People's Party (CDS–PP), was the party that suffered the most. The People's Party dropped to fourth place and had the biggest fall in terms of share of the vote, winning just 8 percent of the vote, a fall of more than 4 points. They also lost one seat compared to 1994.

Turnout increased compared with 1994, with 39.9 percent of voters casting a ballot.

Electoral system

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The voting method used, for the election of European members of parliament, is by proportional representation using the d'Hondt method, which is known to benefit leading parties. In the 1999 EU elections, Portugal had 25 seats to be filled. Deputies are elected in a single constituency, corresponding to the entire national territory.

Parties and candidates

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The major parties that partook in the election, and their EP list leaders, were:[1]

National summary of votes and seats

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Summary of the results of Portugal's 13 June 1999 election to the European Parliament
National party European
party
Main candidate Votes % +/– Seats +/–
Socialist Party (PS) PES Mário Soares 1,493,146 43.07 8.20   12 2  
Social Democratic Party (PSD) EPP José Pacheco Pereira 1,078,528 31.11 3.28   9 0  
Democratic Unitarian Coalition (CDU)
Communist Party (PCP)
Ecologist Party (PEV)
GUE/NGL Ilda Figueiredo 357,671 10.32 0.87   2
2
0

1  
0  
People's Party (CDS–PP) UFE Paulo Portas 283,067 8.16 4.29   2 1  
Left Bloc (BE) None Miguel Portas 61,920 1.79 new 0 new
Workers' Communist Party (PCTP/MRPP) None António Garcia Pereira 30,446 0.88 0.09   0 0  
People's Monarchist Party (PPM) None - 16,182 0.45 0.20   0 0  
Earth Party (MPT) ELDR Paulo Trancoso 13,924 0.40 0.03   0 0  
National Solidarity Party (PSN) None - 8,413 0.24 0.13   0 0  
Workers Party of Socialist Unity (POUS) None Carmelinda Pereira 5,565 0.16 0.06   0 0  
Democratic Party of the Atlantic (PDA) None - 5,089 0.15 0.08   0 0  
Valid votes 3,353,951 96.74
Blank and invalid votes 113,134 3.26
Totals 3,467,085 100.00 25 0  
Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout 8,681,854 39.93 4.39  
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
Vote share
PS
43.07%
PSD
31.11%
CDU
10.32%
CDS-PP
8.16%
BE
1.79%
PCTP/MRPP
0.88%
Others
1.43%
Blank/Invalid
3.27%
Seats
PS
48.00%
PSD
36.00%
CDU
8.00%
CDS-PP
8.00%

Distribution by European group

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Summary of political group distribution in the 5th European Parliament (1999–2004) [2]
Groups Parties Seats Total %
Party of European Socialists (PES) 12 12 48.00
European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP–ED) 9 9 36.00
European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) 2 2 8.00
Union for Europe (UFE)
2 2 8.00
Total 25 25 100.00

Maps

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References

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  1. ^ Comissão Nacional de Eleições - Deputados
  2. ^ "Elecciones al Parlamento Europeo: Resultados por países 1979 - 2014". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2017.

See also

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