Participation in the legislative elections in Portugal this Sunday was 48.28% until 4:00 PM local time (3:00 PM GMT), according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Administration (Interior Ministry).

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The rate is lower than that recorded in the legislative elections of March 2024, when it was 51.96% until the same time. In last year’s elections, 59.84% of eligible voters cast their ballots.

More than 10.8 million voters inside and outside Portugal are called to vote this Sunday in the snap legislative elections.

Polling stations opened their doors this Sunday at 8:00 AM local time in mainland Portugal and Madeira, and are scheduled to close at 7:00 PM.

In the Azores archipelago, polling stations started the day sixty minutes later and will also end the day later because they are in a different time zone.

This vote is being held after the government of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro (center-right) lost a vote of confidence in Parliament in March, triggered by media reports of a company owned by his family that allegedly received payments from other companies where the politician previously worked.

In recent days and on this very election day, there have been calls from various political groups and the President of the country, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, for citizens to go and exercise their right to vote today to achieve stability.

The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, plans to call political parties for consultations after the results of the legislative elections.

He stressed that he will analyse the results before taking decisions on the appointment of a new prime minister, and that consultations with the parties will take place in the following days to form a new government.

The Portuguese president issued a final message to encourage voters and said that “it is the ideal day to exercise the right to vote”.

“I really insist that people who can vote and want to vote, of course, do not miss the opportunity, it is a very difficult time we are living, politically and economically, with many unknowns and much indecision,” warned Rebelo de Sousa.

These are the fourth elections in Portugal in five years and the third in the next twelve months, with municipal elections scheduled for the autumn and presidential elections in January 2026.

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