Election Name: | 2026 Portuguese presidential election |
Country: | Portugal |
Type: | presidential |
Ongoing: | yes |
Previous Election: | 2021 Portuguese presidential election |
Previous Year: | 2021 |
Election Date: | January 2026 |
President | |
Before Election: | Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa |
Before Party: | Social Democratic Party (Portugal) |
Posttitle: | President-elect |
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Portugal in January 2026. The elections will elect the successor to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is barred from running for a third term.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was re-elected in January 2021 with almost 61 percent of the votes on the first round. He took the oath of office on 9 March 2021, and continued the cohabitation with Socialist Prime Minister António Costa that lasted until April 2024. This cohabitation ended after the March 2024 elections which resulted in the nomination of Luís Montenegro, from the Social Democratic Party, also the party of the President, as Prime Minister. In Portugal, the president is the head of state and has mostly ceremonial powers; however, the president has some political influence and can dissolve the Parliament of Portugal if a crisis occurs. The president also has an official residence in the Belém Palace in Lisbon.
To stand for election, candidates for the presidency each have to gather 7,500 signatures of support one month before the election, and submit them to the Constitutional Court of Portugal. Then, the Constitutional Court has to certify if the candidacies submitted meet the requirements to appear on the ballot. The highest number of candidacies ever accepted was ten, in 2016. Under Portuguese law, a candidate must receive a majority of votes (50% plus one vote) to be elected. If no candidate achieves a majority in the first round, a runoff election (i.e., second round, held between the two candidates who receive the most votes in the first round) has to be held.
Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | / | Lead | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Intercampus | 19–26 Jul 2024 | 609 | 9.4 | 14.1 | 4.6 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 11.4 | 1.5 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 19.3 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 5.7 | 5.2 | |||||||||
Duplimétrica | 6–13 May 2024 | 800 | 10 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 15 | 4 | ||||||||||
Intercampus | 18–23 Apr 2024 | 605 | 8.4 | 14.7 | 12.5 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 7.7 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 13.6 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 9.0 | 1.1 | ||||||
Intercampus | 9–14 Sep 2023 | 614 | 7.8 | 8.8 | 15.8 | 3.9 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 14.8 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 9.3 | 1.0 | ||||||
Intercampus | 3–6 Jul 2023 | 623 | 7.9 | 14.3 | 13.3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 6.9 | 1.4 | 11.4 | 0.8 | 5.9 | 3.2 | 15.1 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 6.3 | 0.8 | ||||||
Intercampus | 3–10 Feb 2023 | 602 | 10.0 | 10.6 | 15.8 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 9.5 | 6.0 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 13.5 | 4.7 | 10.2 | 2.3 | |||||||||
Intercampus | 15–20 Nov 2022 | 605 | 15.9 | 9.6 | 15.2 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 3.3 | 8.6 | 2.1 | 15.8 | 0.7 | ||||||||||
Intercampus | 6–11 Jul 2022 | 605 | 31.7 | 10.9 | 10.4 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 6.1 | 3.0 | 22.3 | 20.8 | ||||||||||||||
18.3 | 17.4 | 12.7 | 12.2 | 4.5 | 34.9 | 0.9 | |||||||||||||||||||
31.1 | 13.6 | 16.2 | 7.8 | 4.0 | 27.4 | 14.9 | |||||||||||||||||||
23.1 | 16.5 | 12.9 | 12.4 | 4.5 | 30.6 | 6.6 |
Poll results showing public opinion on who would be the best candidate for each political side, are shown in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first.
The table below lists the evolution of public opinion on the President's performance in office.
Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Approve | Disapprove | No opinion | Net | ||||
Aximage | 3–8 Jul 2024 | 801 | 37 | 53 | 10 | 16 | |
Marktest | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 5–7 Jun 2024 | 440 | 36.3 | 44.0 | 19.7 | 7.7 |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 29 May–4 Jun 2024 | 604 | 25.7 | 44.6 | 29.8 | 18.9 |
Aximage | 17–22 May 2024 | 801 | 32 | 60 | 8 | 28 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 12–20 May 2024 | 609 | 22.5 | 48.6 | 28.9 | 26.1 |
Marktest | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 7–15 May 2024 | 497 | 30.1 | 51.4 | 18.5 | 21.3 |
Duplimétrica | 6–13 May 2024 | 800 | 25 | 30 | 45 | 5 | |
Intercampus | 18–23 Apr 2024 | 605 | 36.3 | 33.1 | 30.6 | 3.2 | |
Aximage | 29 Mar–3 Apr 2024 | 805 | 32 | 25 | 43 | 7 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 6–10 Feb 2024 | 608 | 33.8 | 33.4 | 32.8 | 0.4 |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 16–20 Jan 2024 | 637 | 29.3 | 41.3 | 29.4 | 12.0 |
Aximage | 18–23 Dec 2023 | 805 | 28 | 45 | 27 | 17 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 18–21 Dec 2023 | 611 | 29.3 | 38.1 | 32.6 | 8.8 |
Aximage | 18–23 Nov 2023 | 802 | 37 | 33 | 30 | 4 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 14–17 Nov 2023 | 602 | 33.3 | 36.2 | 30.4 | 2.9 |
Aximage | 18–24 Oct 2023 | 805 | 44 | 34 | 22 | 10 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 18–23 Oct 2023 | 604 | 38.3 | 33.1 | 28.6 | 5.2 |
Aximage | 2–5 Oct 2023 | 601 | 34 | 30 | 36 | 4 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 9–14 Sep 2023 | 614 | 44.4 | 24.2 | 31.4 | 20.2 |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 7–11 Aug 2023 | 607 | 50.1 | 21.0 | 28.9 | 29.1 |
Aximage | 6–11 Jul 2023 | 800 | 53 | 27 | 20 | 26 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 3–6 Jul 2023 | 623 | 40.0 | 30.7 | 29.3 | 9.3 |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 25–31 May 2023 | 611 | 37.5 | 32.4 | 30.1 | 5.1 |
Aximage | 10–14 Apr 2023 | 805 | 44 | 37 | 19 | 7 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 6–12 Apr 2023 | 610 | 43.6 | 25.5 | 30.9 | 18.1 |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 9–15 Mar 2023 | 613 | 45.6 | 26.8 | 27.6 | 18.8 |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 3–10 Feb 2023 | 602 | 41.2 | 28.4 | 30.4 | 12.8 |
Aximage | 10–14 Jan 2023 | 805 | 45 | 35 | 20 | 10 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 6–11 Jan 2023 | 605 | 46.8 | 26.3 | 27.0 | 20.5 |
Pitagórica | 9–15 Dec 2022 | 828 | 63 | 32 | 5 | 31 | |
ICS/ISCTE | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 3–15 Dec 2022 | 809 | 71 | 27 | 2 | 44 |
Intercampus | 17–22 Oct 2022 | 607 | 45.0 | 26.3 | 28.7 | 18.7 | |
Aximage | 21–24 Sep 2022 | 810 | 49 | 25 | 26 | 24 | |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 9–15 Sep 2022 | 606 | 52.0 | 18.1 | 29.9 | 33.9 |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 3–10 Aug 2022 | 605 | 56.5 | 16.9 | 26.6 | 39.6 |
Pitagórica | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 28 Jul–10 Aug 2022 | 828 | 64 | 31 | 5 | 33 |
Intercampus | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 6–11 Jul 2022 | 605 | 57.2 | 19.5 | 23.3 | 37.7 |
Aximage | 5–10 Jul 2022 | 810 | 56 | 22 | 22 | 34 | |
Pitagórica | data-sort-value="2019-10-03" | 21 Jun–4 Jul 2022 | 828 | 70 | 27 | 3 | 43 |
Intercampus | 8–14 Jun 2022 | 611 | 60.9 | 13.8 | 25.3 | 47.1 | |
Intercampus | 7–15 May 2022 | 611 | 61.2 | 14.6 | 24.2 | 46.6 | |
Aximage | 12–18 Apr 2022 | 807 | 61 | 15 | 24 | 46 | |
Intercampus | 13–20 Aug 2021 | 612 | 62.3 | 12.8 | 24.9 | 49.5 | |
Eurosondagem | 26–29 Jul 2021 | 1,025 | 81.1 | 8.0 | 10.9 | 73.1 | |
Aximage | 10–12 Jul 2021 | 763 | 55 | 18 | 27 | 37 | |
Eurosondagem | 5–8 Jul 2021 | 1,022 | 80.8 | 9.7 | 9.5 | 71.1 | |
Aximage | 26–30 May 2021 | 796 | 70 | 10 | 20 | 60 | |
Eurosondagem | 10–13 May 2021 | 1,008 | 80.0 | 9.4 | 10.6 | 70.6 | |
Intercampus | 5–11 May 2021 | 610 | 69.0 | 11.1 | 19.9 | 57.9 | |
Aximage | 22–25 Apr 2021 | 830 | 71 | 10 | 19 | 61 | |
Intercampus | 7–13 Apr 2021 | 609 | 67.0 | 14.7 | 18.3 | 52.3 | |
ICS/ISCTE | 5–13 Apr 2021 | 802 | 79.9 | 7.3 | 12.8 | 72.6 | |
Eurosondagem | 5–8 Apr 2021 | 1,020 | 75.1 | 4.8 | 20.1 | 70.3 | |
Aximage | 24–27 Mar 2021 | 830 | 72 | 17 | 11 | 55 | |
Intercampus | 4–10 Mar 2021 | 615 | 69.3 | 10.2 | 20.5 | 59.1 | |