# 2021 Lisbon local election

The 2021 Lisbon local election was held on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the Lisbon City Council.
In what was the biggest surprise of the 2021 municipal elections, Carlos Moedas, the candidate of the center-right coalition led by the Social Democratic Party, managed to be elected Mayor of Lisbon and put an end to 14 years of Socialist rule. Against all expectations, the center-right coalition managed to regain the capital by winning 34.3 percent of the votes and 7 councilors. Despite his victory, Carlos Moedas had to seek understandings with the other parties represented in the City Council.
The big loser in this election was Fernando Medina, candidate of the Socialist Party (which ran in alliance with LIVRE), as he lost his reelection bid, an office he had hold since 2015 and which had been in Socialist hands since 2007. Unexpectedly, the Socialists lost almost 10 percent of the votes compared with the previous election, with Medina labeling the defeat as "personal".
The Unitary Democratic Coalition presented former MEP João Ferreira again and achieved positive results, registering a slight electoral growth to 10.5 percent, the best result for CDU since 2005, and that guaranteed two Communist councilors. The Left Bloc, which presented Beatriz Gomes Dias as a candidate for mayor, managed to keep their sole seat in the municipal council, despite having registered a slight drop in votes.
People-Animals-Nature, CHEGA, and Liberal Initiative failed to elect any councilor.

## Background

In the 2017 election, the Socialist Party led by Fernando Medina, won with a comfortable advantage over the opposition parties, although losing its absolute majority. The center-right wing alliance led by Assunção Cristas' CDS - Peoples Party obtained a historic result for the chamber, surpassing 20 percent of the votes and electing 4 councilors. The Social Democratic Party, which had Teresa Leal Coelho as its candidate, had its worst result in history in Lisbon, finishing in third place, with just over 11 percent of the votes and 2 councilors, a far cry from the Socialists and Christian Democrats (CDS).
Finally, the Unitary Democratic Coalition obtained 9.6 percent, winning 2 councilors and the Left Bloc obtained its best municipal result in the capital, managing to conquer 1 councilor with 7.1 percent and entering in a coalition with the Socialists.

## Electoral system

Each party or coalition must present a list of candidates. The lists are closed and the seats in each municipality are apportioned according to the D'Hondt method. Unlike in national legislative elections, independent lists are allowed to run.

## Parties and candidates

| Party/Coalition | Party/Coalition | Party/Coalition | Political position | Candidate | 2017 result | 2017 result |
| Party/Coalition | Party/Coalition | Party/Coalition | Political position | Candidate | Votes (%) | Seats |
| | ML | More Lisbon Mais Lisboa PS, LIVRE | Centre-left | Fernando Medina | 42.0% | 8 / 17 |
| | NT | New Times Novos Tempos PPD/PSD, CDS–PP, A, MPT, PPM | Centre-right | Carlos Moedas | 31.8% | 6 / 17 |
| | CDU | Unitary Democratic Coalition Coligação Democrática Unitária PCP, PEV | Left-wing to far-left | João Ferreira | 9.5% | 2 / 17 |
| | BE | Left Bloc Bloco de Esquerda | Left-wing to far-left | Beatriz Gomes Dias | 7.1% | 1 / 17 |
| | PAN | People Animals Nature Pessoas-Animais-Natureza | Centre-left | Manuela Gonzaga | 3.0% | 0 / 17 |
| | NC | We, the Citizens! Nós, Cidadãos! | Centre-right | Sofia Afonso Ferreira | 0.6% | 0 / 17 |
| | E | Rise Up Ergue-te | Far-right | João Patrocínio | 0.5% | 0 / 17 |
| | PDR | Democratic Republican Party Partido Democrático Republicano | Centre | Bruno Fialho | 0.3% | 0 / 17 |
| | IL | Liberal Initiative Iniciativa Liberal | Centre-right to right-wing | Bruno Horta Soares | — | — |
| | CH | Enough! Chega! | Right-wing to far-right | Nuno Graciano | — | — |
| | VP | Volt Portugal Volt Portugal | Centre to centre-left | Tiago Matos Gomes | — | — |
| | STL | We are all Lisbon Somos todos Lisboa | Right-wing | Ossanda Liber | — | — |

## Campaign period
### Party slogans

| Party or alliance | Original slogan | English translation |
| ML | « Mais Lisboa » | "More Lisbon" |
| NT | « Novos Tempos » « Lisboa pode ser muito mais do que imaginas » | "New Times" "Lisbon can be much more than you think" |
| CDU | « Por uma Lisboa com vida » | "For a Lisbon with life" |
| BE | « Uma cidade em comum » | "A city in common" |
| PAN | « Lisboa nas tuas mãos » | "Lisbon in your hands " |
| IL | « 1 vereador liberal faz toda a diferença » | "1 liberal councillor makes all the difference" |
| CH | « Chega. Lisboa sem Corrupção » | "Enough. Lisbon without corruption" |

### Candidates' debates

2021 Lisbon local election debates :
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Present  A Absent invitee N Non-invitee |
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | ML Medina | NT Moedas | CDU Ferreira | BE Dias | PAN Gonzaga | IL Soares | CH Graciano | NC S. Ferreira | E Patrocínio | PDR Fialho | VP Gomes | STL Liber | Refs |
| 2 Sep 2021 | SIC Notícias | Clara de Sousa | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | N | N | N | N | N | |
| 7 Sep 2021 | TVI, TVI24 | Sara Pinto | P | P | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | |
| 9 Sep 2021 | Antena 1 | Natália Carvalho | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | |
| 15 Sep 2021 | RTP1, RTP3 | António José Teixeira | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | |

## Opinion polling

Exit poll
| Polling firm/Link | Fieldwork date | Sample size | PS L | PSD CDS PPM MPT A | CDU | BE | PAN | IL | CH | O | Lead |
| 2021 local election | 26 Sep 2021 | — | 33.3 7 | 34.3 7 | 10.5 2 | 6.2 1 | 2.7 0 | 4.2 0 | 4.4 0 | 4.4 0 | 1.0 |
| CESOP–UCP | 26 Sep 2021 | 4,146 | 31–35 6/8 | 32–36 6/8 | 10–13 1/2 | 5–7 1 | 2–4 0 | 3–5 0/1 | 3–5 0/1 | 2–9 0 | 1 |
| ICS/ISCTE | 26 Sep 2021 | 8,159 | 31.3– 36.3 6/8 | 30.2– 35.2 6/8 | 10.4– 13.4 2/3 | 5.7– 8.7 1/2 | 1.8– 3.8 0 | 3.2– 6.2 0/1 | 2.4– 5.4 0/1 | 1.6– 4.6 0 | 1.1 |
| Pitagórica | 26 Sep 2021 | 6,206 | 32.6– 38.6 7 | 29.3– 35.3 6/7 | 6.6– 12.6 2 | 4.2– 8.2 1 | 1.0– 5.0 0 | 3.3– 7.3 0/1 | 1.9– 5.9 0 | 2.1– 6.1 0 | 3.3– 3.7 |
| Intercampus | 26 Sep 2021 | 6,406 | 32.0– 36.4 6/8 | 31.2– 35.6 6/8 | 10.1– 13.7 1/3 | 5.5– 8.5 0/2 | 1.6– 4.6 0/1 | 2.9– 5.9 0/1 | 1.6– 4.6 0/1 | 2.5– 3.3 0 | 0.8 |
| Pitagórica Seat projection | 15–21 Sep 2021 | 600 | 40.6 8/9 | 33.1 6/7 | 7.6 1 | 4.7 0/1 | 3.2 0 | 3.2 0 | 2.1 0 | 5.5 0 | 7.5 |
| CESOP–UCP Seat projection | 16–20 Sep 2021 | 1,292 | 37 7/8 | 28 5/6 | 11 1/2 | 7 1 | 3 0 | 5 0/1 | 3 0 | 6 0 | 9 |
| Pitagórica Seat projection | 30 Aug–4 Sep 2021 | 600 | 39.8 8/9 | 32.6 6/7 | 8.5 1 | 6.8 1 | 3.8 0 | 3.0 0 | 2.8 0 | 2.7 0 | 7.2 |
| Intercampus Seat projection | 25–30 Aug 2021 | 642 | 45.2 9 | 27.0 5 | 9.7 2 | 8.5 1 | 1.8 0 | 2.1 0 | 3.2 0 | 2.5 0 | 18.2 |
| Eurosondagem Seat projection | 23–26 Aug 2021 | 2,225 | 38.6 8 | 26.9 4 | 7.7 0/2 | 6.3 0/2 | 3.3 0/1 | 6.3 0/2 | 4.8 0/2 | 6.1 0 | 11.7 |
| Aximage | 14–21 Aug 2021 | 792 | 51 | 27 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 24 |
| ICS/ISCTE | 3–18 Jul 2021 | 803 | 42 | 31 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| Intercampus | 8–13 Apr 2021 | 611 | 46.6 | 25.7 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 20.9 |
| 2019 legislative election | 6 Oct 2019 | — | 36.5 (8) | 33.1 (7) | 7.0 (1) | 9.1 (1) | 4.1 (0) | 4.1 (0) | 1.4 (0) | 4.7 (0) | 3.4 |
| 2019 EP election | 26 May 2019 | — | 33.9 (7) | 31.1 (6) | 7.0 (1) | 10.7 (2) | 6.6 (1) | 2.0 (0) | — | 8.7 (0) | 2.8 |
| 2017 local election | 1 Oct 2017 | — | 42.0 8 | 31.8 6 | 9.6 2 | 7.1 1 | 3.0 0 | — | — | 6.5 (0) | 10.2 |

## Results
### Municipal Council

Summary of the 26 September 2021 Lisbon City Council elections results :
| Parties | Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Councillors | Councillors |
| Parties | Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Total | ± |
| | PSD / CDS–PP / Alliance / MPT / PPM | 83,185 | 34.27 | 2.5 | 7 | 1 |
| | Socialist / LIVRE | 80,907 | 33.33 | 8.7 | 7 | 1 |
| | Unitary Democratic Coalition | 25,550 | 10.53 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 |
| | Left Bloc | 15,057 | 6.20 | 0.9 | 1 | 0 |
| | CHEGA | 10,730 | 4.42 | — | 0 | — |
| | Liberal Initiative | 10,213 | 4.21 | — | 0 | — |
| | People–Animals–Nature | 6,625 | 2.73 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| | Volt Portugal | 1,016 | 0.42 | — | 0 | — |
| | We are all Lisbon (STL) | 864 | 0.36 | — | 0 | — |
| | We, the Citizens! | 494 | 0.20 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| | Rise Up | 338 | 0.14 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| | Democratic Republican | 319 | 0.13 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total valid | Total valid | 235,298 | 96.93 | 1.1 | 17 | 0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 4,823 | 1.99 | 0.6 | | |
| Invalid ballots | Invalid ballots | 2,622 | 1.08 | 0.4 | | |
| Total | Total | 242,743 | 100.00 | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 476,050 | 50.99 | 0.1 | | |
| Source: Lisbon 2021 election results |||||||||||

### Municipal Assembly

Summary of the 26 September 2021 Lisbon Municipal Assembly elections results :
| Parties | Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Seats | Seats |
| Parties | Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | Total | ± |
| | PSD / CDS–PP / Alliance / MPT / PPM | 75,616 | 31.15 | 0.9 | 17 | 0 |
| | Socialist / LIVRE | 74,765 | 30.80 | 6.9 | 17 | 5 |
| | Unitary Democratic Coalition | 26,890 | 11.08 | 0.9 | 6 | 0 |
| | Left Bloc | 18,528 | 7.63 | 0.8 | 4 | 0 |
| | Liberal Initiative | 14,447 | 5.95 | — | 3 | — |
| | CHEGA | 13,004 | 5.36 | — | 3 | — |
| | People–Animals–Nature | 8,573 | 3.53 | 0.8 | 1 | 1 |
| | Volt Portugal | 1,401 | 0.58 | — | 0 | — |
| | We are all Lisbon (STL) | 1,069 | 0.44 | — | 0 | — |
| | Rise Up | 438 | 0.18 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Total valid | Total valid | 234,731 | 96.70 | 1.1 | 51 | 0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 5,337 | 2.20 | 0.7 | | |
| Invalid ballots | Invalid ballots | 2,671 | 1.10 | 0.4 | | |
| Total | Total | 242,739 | 100.00 | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 476,740 | 50.92 | 0.2 | | |
| Source: Lisbon 2021 election results |||||||||||

### Parish Assemblies

Results of the 26 September 2021 Lisbon Parish Assembly elections :
| Parish | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | Total S |
| Parish | ML | ML | NT | NT | CDU | CDU | BE | BE | IL | IL | CH | CH | PAN | PAN | IND | IND | | Total S |
| Ajuda | 51.5 | 8 | 15.9 | 2 | 13.6 | 2 | 6.5 | 1 | 3.6 | - | 5.5 | - | | | | | 13 |
| Alcântara | 53.7 | 8 | 18.8 | 3 | 9.3 | 1 | 5.3 | - | 6.2 | 1 | 3.8 | - | | | | | 13 |
| Alvalade | 28.6 | 6 | 33.2 | 7 | 8.6 | 2 | 6.4 | 1 | 6.4 | 1 | 4.2 | 1 | | | 5.0 | 1 | 19 |
| Areeiro | 25.9 | 4 | 42.6 | 7 | 7.7 | 1 | 5.8 | - | 7.0 | 1 | 4.6 | - | 3.4 | - | | | 13 |
| Arroios | 23.8 | 5 | 29.0 | 6 | 12.5 | 3 | 10.7 | 2 | 5.5 | 1 | 4.2 | 1 | 5.4 | 1 | 3.6 | - | 19 |
| Avenidas Novas | 26.8 | 5 | 43.0 | 9 | 6.9 | 1 | 5.8 | 1 | 9.1 | 2 | 4.8 | 1 | | | | | 19 |
| Beato | 39.5 | 6 | 18.2 | 3 | 13.0 | 2 | 9.4 | 1 | 2.5 | - | 7.5 | 1 | | | 5.8 | - | 13 |
| Belém | 24.2 | 4 | 46.4 | 7 | 6.6 | 1 | 4.0 | - | 8.6 | 1 | 4.8 | - | 2.6 | - | | | 13 |
| Benfica | 45.6 | 10 | 23.7 | 5 | 8.9 | 2 | 6.5 | 1 | 3.8 | - | 5.0 | 1 | 3.3 | - | | | 19 |
| Campo de Ourique | 34.3 | 5 | 34.0 | 5 | 8.8 | 1 | 7.5 | 1 | 6.4 | 1 | 4.8 | - | | | | | 13 |
| Campolide | 38.9 | 6 | 25.7 | 4 | 9.0 | 1 | 6.8 | 1 | 6.8 | 1 | 5.5 | - | 3.7 | - | | | 13 |
| Carnide | 18.2 | 3 | 20.1 | 3 | 45.5 | 7 | 3.3 | - | 3.5 | - | 3.8 | - | 2.1 | - | | | 13 |
| Estrela | 23.7 | 3 | 47.8 | 8 | 7.1 | 1 | 5.6 | - | 7.3 | 1 | 5.3 | - | | | | | 13 |
| Lumiar | 27.1 | 6 | 41.3 | 9 | 8.7 | 1 | 5.2 | 1 | 6.6 | 1 | 4.6 | 1 | 3.2 | - | | | 19 |
| Marvila | 48.5 | 11 | 13.7 | 3 | 11.7 | 2 | 6.9 | 1 | 2.4 | - | 9.2 | 2 | 2.4 | - | | | 19 |
| Misericórdia | 33.1 | 6 | 27.4 | 4 | 12.3 | 2 | 10.6 | 1 | 5.1 | - | 4.5 | - | 4.0 | - | | | 13 |
| Olivais | 34.7 | 8 | 24.9 | 5 | 13.8 | 3 | 8.0 | 1 | 3.4 | - | 6.8 | 1 | 4.5 | 1 | | | 19 |
| Parque das Nações | 34.4 | 5 | 35.8 | 6 | 7.4 | 1 | 4.2 | - | 8.0 | 1 | 4.4 | - | 2.8 | - | | | 13 |
| Penha de França | 37.0 | 8 | 20.6 | 4 | 13.5 | 3 | 11.2 | 2 | 3.8 | - | 5.3 | 1 | 4.5 | 1 | | | 19 |
| Santa Clara | 36.2 | 6 | 22.0 | 3 | 12.4 | 2 | 6.4 | 1 | 3.8 | - | 11.2 | 1 | | | | | 13 |
| Santa Maria Maior | 45.0 | 8 | 16.4 | 2 | 14.3 | 2 | 7.7 | 1 | 3.6 | - | 4.2 | - | 3.3 | - | 1.4 | - | 13 |
| Santo António | 23.6 | 3 | 44.6 | 7 | 8.1 | 1 | 7.4 | 1 | 6.7 | 1 | 3.4 | - | 3.4 | - | | | 13 |
| São Domingos de Benfica | 32.8 | 7 | 35.3 | 8 | 8.6 | 2 | 6.1 | 1 | 5.8 | 1 | 4.2 | - | 3.8 | - | | | 19 |
| São Vicente | 28.7 | 5 | 19.4 | 3 | 22.9 | 3 | 11.6 | 2 | 5.0 | - | 3.5 | - | 4.3 | - | | | 13 |
| Total | 33.3 | 146 | 30.5 | 123 | 11.5 | 47 | 6.8 | 21 | 5.5 | 14 | 5.2 | 11 | 2.8 | 3 | 0.7 | 1 | 366 |
| Source: Election Results ||||||||||||||||||