2020 Kingdom of Portugal General Election
The
Portuguese general election of 2020 was held on 18 May 2020. All 214 seats to the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the Portuguese Parliament) were at stake.
The incumbent center-right
Progressive Party (PP) led by
Prime Minister José Ribau Esteves, who became Prime Minister in 2019 following the retirement of
Manuela Ferreira Leite, was able to keep their status as largest party in the Parliament despite their large drop in seats, but the party did lose the majority it won in the 2012 and 2016 elections.
The PP lost most of their seats to the resurgent center-left
Democratic People's Party (PPD) who doubled their seat share after their very poor showing in the 2016 election. Only three months before the election and faced with dismal opinion polls, the PPD ousted their leader Francisco Assis and replaced him with former Prime Minister
Carlos César.
The PPD's resurgence also damaged the left-wing
Socialist Party (PS) led by
Maria das Dores Meria. After their best showing in decades in 2016, PS lost 3 of their seats to the PPD.
Two small parties also had gains with the center-right/right
Movement for Democracy (MpD) doubling their seat share up to eight seats in the chamber. The
Ecological "Green" Party (PEV) also doubled their seat share gaining one seat in Setúbal and keeping their leader's seat in Penha de França.
The biggest losers of the election were the
Liberal Inititive (LI) who won 5 seats in 2016 in what was a bit upset at the time. However, in 2020, the party saw their vote share collapse and lost all of seats in the Parliament.
Following the election, the PP would enter into a coalition with the MpD to form a government with Esteves as Prime Minister and Portas as Deputy Prime Minister.