# 2004 European Parliament election in Portugal

An election of MEPs representing Portugal for the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament was held on 13 June 2004. It was part of the wider 2004 European election.
The Socialist Party (PS) was the big winner of the elections, achieving their best result in a European election ever. The party won 44.5 percent of the votes, an increase of 1.5 percentage points, and held on to the 12 seats won in 1999. However the Socialist victory, and the campaign overall, was overshadowed by the sudden death of the PS top candidate, António Sousa Franco. Sousa Franco died of a heart attack while campaigning in Matosinhos, just four days before election day. António Costa, number 2 on the list, became the Socialists' top candidate after Sousa Franco's death.
The Social Democrats (PSD) and the People's Party (CDS–PP) contested the election in a coalition called "Forward Portugal" (FP). The coalition had a very weak performance, winning just 33 percent of the votes, a big drop compared with the combined total of 39 percent the PSD+CDS had in 1999. The PSD lost two seats, while CDS–PP held on to their two seats.
The Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) dropped one point and fell below 10 percent of the votes for the first time. CDU was still able to hold on to the two seats they had won in 1999. The Left Bloc (BE) gained a seat for the EU parliament for the first time, and saw its share of vote increase to almost 5 percent, an increase of more than 3 percentage points compared with 1999.
Turnout dropped compared with 1999, with 38.6 percent of voters casting a ballot.

## Electoral system

The voting method used for the election of European members of parliament, is proportional representation using the d'Hondt method, which is known to benefit the largest parties slightly. In the 2004 EU elections, Portugal had 24 seats to be filled. Deputies are elected in a single constituency, corresponding to the entire national territory.

## Parties and candidates

The major parties that partook in the election, and their EP list leaders, were:
* Left Bloc (BE), Miguel Portas
* Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU), Ilda Figueiredo
* Socialist Party (PS), António Costa
* Social Democratic Party (PSD)/People's Party (CDS–PP) Força Portugal, João de Deus Pinheiro

## Campaign period
### Party slogans

| Party or alliance | Original slogan | English translation |
| PS | « Queremos um Portugal melhor » | "We want a better Portugal" |
| FP | « Força Portugal! » | "Forward Portugal!" |
| CDU | « Outro caminho para a Europa e para Portugal » | "Another path for Europe and Portugal" |
| BE | « Estás farto? » | "Had enough?" |

### Candidates' debates

One last debate between the four main candidates was expected to be held on RTP on 10 June, but it was cancelled after the sudden death of the PS lead candidate António Sousa Franco on 9 June. Parties also cut short their campaigns.
2004 European Parliament election in Portugal 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 |
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | PS S. Franco | FP Pinheiro | CDU Figueiredo | BE Portas | Refs |
| 1 June | SIC Notícias | Clara de Sousa | P | P | P | P | |
| 8 June | SIC Notícias | Clara de Sousa | P | P | N | N | |

## Opinion polling

| Date Released | Polling Firm | | | | | Others | Lead |
| 13 June 2004 | Election results | 44.5 12 seats | 33.3 9 seats | 9.1 2 seats | 4.9 1 seats | 8.2 0 seats | 11.2 |
| 13 June 2004 | Exit Poll – RTP1 Universidade Católica | 43.0–47.0 12 / 13 | 32.0–36.0 8 / 9 | 8.0–10.0 2 / 3 | 4.0–6.0 1 | — | 11.0 |
| 13 June 2004 | Exit Poll – SIC Eurosondagem | 44.1–47.9 12 / 13 | 29.7–33.5 8 / 9 | 10.1–11.9 2 / 3 | 5.1–6.9 1 | — | 14.4 |
| 13 June 2004 | Exit Poll – TVI Intercampus | 42.3–47.1 12 / 13 | 30.5–35.1 8 / 9 | 7.3–10.1 2 | 4.7–6.9 1 | — | 11.8 12.0 |
| Exit polls ||||||||
| 11 June 2004 | Aximage | 40.3 | 39.8 | 8.3 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 0.5 |
| 11 June 2004 | Universidade Católica | 44.0 | 37.0 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| 11 June 2004 | Eurosondagem | 43.3 | 37.8 | 7.7 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.5 |
| 11 June 2004 | Intercampus | 42.4 | 27.5 | 12.6 | 6.7 | 10.9 | 14.9 |
| 9 June 2004 | Marktest | 49.2 | 37.4 | 6.3 | 5.0 | 2.1 | 11.8 |
| 5 June 2004 | Aximage Seat projection | 39.2 11 / 12 | 34.5 9 / 10 | 7.9 2 | 2.4 1 | 16.0 – | 4.7 |
| 25 May 2004 | Aximage | 39.5 | 33.6 | 8.3 | 4.0 | 14.6 | 5.9 |
| 20 May 2004 | TNS Euroteste | 34.0 | 34.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 25.0 | Tie |
| 19 May 2004 | Marktest | 49.2 | 34.8 | 8.1 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 14.4 |
| 14 May 2004 | Universidade Católica | 44.3 | 40.7 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 |
| 7 May 2004 | Aximage Seat projection | 40.5 11 | 35.8 9 | 6.1 1 | 3.3 – | 14.3 3 | 4.7 |
| 29 March 2004 | Marktest | 54.7 | 34.5 | 5.5 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 20.2 |
| 19 March 2004 | Eurosondagem Seat projection | 37.0 11 | 37.6 11 | 5.8 1 | 4.3 1 | 15.3 – | 0.6 |
| 7 March 2004 | Aximage Seat projection | 39.2 10 | 39.7 11 | 7.0 2 | 3.7 1 | 10.4 – | 0.5 |
| 13 June 1999 | Election results | 43.1 12 seats | 39.3$^1$ 11 seats | 10.3 2 seats | 1.8 0 seats | 5.6 0 seats | 3.8 |
| $^1$ Sum of votes and seats of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and of the People's Party (CDS–PP). ||||||||

## National summary of votes and seats

Summary of the results of Portugal's 13 June 2004 election to the European Parliament :
| National party | National party | European party | Main candidate | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– |
| | Socialist Party (PS) | PES | António Costa | 1,516,001 | 44.52 | 1.45 | 12 | 0 |
| | Forward Portugal (FP) • Social Democratic Party (PSD) • People's Party (CDS–PP) | EPP | João de Deus Pinheiro | 1,132,769 | 33.27 | | 9 7 2 | 2 0 |
| | Democratic Unitarian Coalition (CDU) • Communist Party (PCP) • Ecologist Party (PEV) | GUE/NGL | Ilda Figueiredo | 309,401 | 9.09 | 1.23 | 2 2 0 | 0 0 |
| | Left Bloc (BE) | EACL | Miguel Portas | 167,313 | 4.91 | 3.12 | 1 | 1 |
| | Workers' Communist Party (PCTP/MRPP) | None | António Garcia Pereira | 36,294 | 1.07 | 0.19 | 0 | 0 |
| | New Democracy Party (PND) | None | Manuel Monteiro | 33,833 | 0.99 | new | 0 | new |
| | People's Monarchist Party (PPM) | ECPM | Gonçalo da Câmara Pereira | 15,454 | 0.45 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 |
| | Movement for the Sick (MD) | None | Vitorino Brandão | 13,840 | 0.41 | new | 0 | new |
| | Earth Party (MPT) | ALDE | Luís Filipe Marques | 13,671 | 0.40 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 |
| | Humanist Party (PH) | None | - | 13,272 | 0.39 | new | 0 | new |
| | National Renovator Party (P.N.R.) | None | Paulo Rodrigues | 8,405 | 0.25 | new | 0 | new |
| | Democratic Party of the Atlantic (PDA) | None | José Soares | 5,588 | 0.16 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 |
| | Workers Party of Socialist Unity (POUS) | None | Carmelinda Pereira | 4,275 | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 3,270,116 | 96.04 | | | |
| Blank and invalid votes | Blank and invalid votes | Blank and invalid votes | Blank and invalid votes | 134,666 | 3.96 | | | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 3,404,782 | 100.00 | — | 24 | 1 |
| Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout | Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout | Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout | Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout | 8,821,456 | 38.60 | 1.33 | | |
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine |||||||||
Vote share
PS
44.52%
FP
33.27%
CDU
9.09%
BE
4.91%
PCTP/MRPP
1.07%
PND
0.99%
Others
2.19%
Blank/Invalid
3.96% :
Seats
PS
50.00%
FP
37.50%
CDU
8.33%
BE
4.17% :

### Distribution by European group

Summary of political group distribution in the 6th European Parliament (2004–2009) :
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Seats | Total | % |
| | Party of European Socialists (PES) | Socialist Party (PS) | 12 | 12 | 50.00 |
| | European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP–ED) | Social Democratic Party (PSD) People's Party (CDS–PP) | 7 2 | 9 | 37.50 |
| | European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) | Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) Left Bloc (BE) | 2 1 | 3 | 12.50 |
| Total | Total | Total | 24 | 24 | 100.00 |

### Maps

* Most voted political force by district. (Azores and Madeira not shown)
* Strongest party by municipality. Pink: PS; Darkblue: PSD-CDS; Red: CDU