1953 Portuguese legislative election explained

Election Name:1953 Portuguese National Assembly election
Country:Portugal
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1949 Portuguese legislative election
Previous Year:1949
Next Election:1957 Portuguese legislative election
Next Year:1957
Seats For Election:120 seats to the National Assembly
Majority Seats:61
Election Date:8 November 1953
Leader1:António de Oliveira Salazar
Party1:National Union (Portugal)
Last Election1:120 seats
Seats1:120
Popular Vote1:845,281
Percentage1:100.0%
Map Size:300px
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Prime Minister after election
Before Election:António de Oliveira Salazar
Before Party:National Union (Portugal)
After Election:António de Oliveira Salazar
After Party:National Union (Portugal)

Parliamentary elections were held in Portugal on 8 November 1953.[1] The ruling National Union won all 120 seats.

Electoral system

The elections were held using 21 multi-member constituencies and one single-member constituency covering the Azores, together electing a total of 120 members, 13 of which were from Portuguese colonies.[2]

Voters could delete names from the lists of candidates, but could not replace them.[2] Suffrage was given to all men aged 21 or over as long as they were literate or paid over 100 escudos in taxation, and to women aged over 21 if they had completed secondary education, or if they were the head of a household and met the same literacy and tax criteria as men.[2]

Campaign

The opposition to the Estado Novo, consisting of anti-communist liberals, republicans and intellectuals, presented three lists with a total of 28 candidates in Lisbon, Oporto and Aveiro.[3] The elections were boycotted by the National Democratic Movement and the Youth Movement for Democratic Union in protest at a lack of freedom, whilst monarchists boycotted the elections except in cases where a National Union candidate was a known royalist.[3]

Results

PartyVotes%Seats
National Union120
Opposition lists0
Invalid/blank votes
Total845,281100120
Registered voters/turnout1,239,50468.2
align=left colspan=4Source: Nohlen & Stöver

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Dieter Nohlen]
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p1535
  3. "Elections In Portugal Opposition Candidates Defeated" The Times, 9 November 1953, p7, Issue 52774