| Country: | Portugal |
| Type: | presidential |
| Previous Election: | 1972 Portuguese presidential election |
| Previous Year: | 1972 |
| Next Election: | 1980 Portuguese presidential election |
| Next Year: | 1980 |
| Election Date: | 27 June 1976 |
| Turnout: | 75.47% |
| Colour1: | ff0081 |
| Candidate1: | António Ramalho Eanes |
| Party1: | Independent |
| Popular Vote1: | 2,967,137 |
| Percentage1: | 61.59% |
| Colour2: | 810000 |
| Candidate2: | Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho |
| Party2: | Independent |
| Popular Vote2: | 792,760 |
| Percentage2: | 16.46% |
| Image4: | IND |
| Candidate4: | José Pinheiro de Azevedo |
| Colour4: | 777777 |
| Party4: | Independent politician |
| Popular Vote4: | 692,147 |
| Percentage4: | 14.37% |
| Candidate5: | Octávio Pato |
| Party5: | Portuguese Communist Party |
| Popular Vote5: | 365,586 |
| Percentage5: | 7.59% |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Francisco da Costa Gomes |
| Before Party: | Independent politician |
| After Election: | António Ramalho Eanes |
| After Party: | Independent politician |
Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 27 June 1976.
With a broad base of support that comprised the center-left and the center-right, Ramalho Eanes won the election on the first round and became the first elected President of Portugal after the Carnation Revolution.
The Portuguese Communist Party presented its own candidate, Octávio Pato, a well known anti-fascist. One of the major responsibles for the military operations during the Carnation Revolution, in 1974, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, was also a candidate.
Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it is necessary to gather between 7,500 and 15,000 signatures and submit them to the Portuguese Constitutional Court.
According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a majority of votes. If no candidate gets this majority there will take place a second round between the two most voted candidates.
There was also one candidate rejected by the Portuguese Constitutional Court for not complying with the legal requirements:
| Candidate | Original slogan | English translation | Refs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| António Ramalho Eanes | « Muitos prometem... Eanes cumpre » « Candidato de Portugal » | "Many promise ... Eanes delivers" "Portugal's Candidate" | [1] | ||
| Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho | « O 25 de Abril à Presidência » | "April 25 to the Presidency" | [2] | ||
| José Pinheiro de Azevedo | « Vota Pinheiro de Azevedo » | "Vote Pinheiro de Azevedo" | [3] | ||
| Octávio Pato | « Pela democracia e o socialismo » | "For democracy and socialism" | [4] | ||
| District | Eanes | Otelo | Azevedo | Pato | Turnout | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| Aveiro | 217,589 | 74.47% | 20,634 | 6.97% | 46,346 | 15.86% | 7,866 | 2.69% | 77.38% | ||
| Azores | 30,646 | 86.06% | 9,510 | 9.01% | 17,076 | 16.18% | 2,562 | 2.43% | 71.13% | ||
| Beja | 36,219 | 34.59% | 34,339 | 32.80% | 7,296 | 6.97% | 26,844 | 25.64% | 74.37% | ||
| Braga | 218,459 | 70.20% | 25,089 | 8.06% | 59,093 | 18.99% | 8,550 | 2.75% | 82.34% | ||
| Bragança | 67,593 | 82.59% | 2,725 | 3.33% | 9,357 | 11.43% | 2,167 | 2.65% | 68.71% | ||
| Castelo Branco | 98,828 | 76.25% | 14,393 | 11.33% | 10,927 | 8.61% | 4,833 | 3.81% | 73.66% | ||
| Coimbra | 147,906 | 71.93% | 19,801 | 9.63% | 29,038 | 14.12% | 8,887 | 4.32% | 67.51% | ||
| Évora | 39,847 | 36.03% | 38,509 | 34.82% | 10,500 | 9.50% | 21,726 | 19.65% | 81.28% | ||
| Faro | 87,590 | 52.88% | 41,018 | 24.76% | 24,331 | 14.69% | 12,698 | 7.67% | 70.81% | ||
| Guarda | 88,451 | 82.87% | 4,528 | 4.24% | 11,194 | 10.49% | 2,558 | 2.40% | 72.64% | ||
| Leiria | 156,404 | 76.63% | 18,682 | 9.15% | 20,109 | 9.85% | 8,915 | 4.37% | 73.26% | ||
| Lisbon | 582,103 | 53.55% | 259,915 | 23.91% | 132,600 | 12.20% | 112,395 | 10.34% | 75.93% | ||
| Madeira | 76,417 | 72.39% | 9,510 | 9.01% | 17,076 | 16.18% | 2,562 | 2.43% | 74.81% | ||
| Portalegre | 47,665 | 56.12% | 14,122 | 16.63% | 10,893 | 12.82% | 12,258 | 14.43% | 78.24% | ||
| Porto | 450,236 | 60.43% | 86,356 | 11.59% | 169,940 | 22.81% | 38,548 | 5.17% | 80.76% | ||
| Santarém | 141,397 | 58.68% | 48,370 | 20.07% | 31,564 | 13.10% | 19,634 | 8.15% | 73.53% | ||
| Setúbal | 96,739 | 29.87% | 135,495 | 41.83% | 31,166 | 9.62% | 60,519 | 18.68% | 77.78% | ||
| Viana do Castelo | 87,136 | 74.64% | 8,075 | 6.92% | 17,174 | 14.71% | 4,362 | 3.74% | 72.36% | ||
| Vila Real | 91,261 | 81.59% | 4,552 | 4.07% | 12,604 | 11.27% | 3,433 | 3.07% | 67.59% | ||
| Viseu | 155,520 | 81.19% | 7,447 | 3.90% | 25,071 | 13.09% | 3,490 | 1.82% | 69.81% | ||
| Source: SGMAI Presidential Election Results | |||||||||||