# 2022 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election

The 2022 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election was held on 28 May 2022. If no candidate achieved more than 50% of the votes in the first round, a second round would be held between the two most voted candidates in the first round on 4 June 2022, however, as only two candidates were on the ballot, Luís Montenegro and Jorge Moreira da Silva, a second round was not necessary. Nearly 45,000 party members, out of more than 85,000 active members, were registered to vote.
The elections came after the defeat of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in the 2022 Portuguese legislative election, where António Costa of the Socialist Party (PS) achieved an absolute majority. During election night, Rui Rio, the incumbent leader of the PSD, declared that he does not see how he could be useful in a PS majority. On 3 February 2022, Rio announced his intention of leaving the PSD leadership and proposed the calling of a snap leadership election.
Luís Montenegro, the centrist wing candidate, defeated Jorge Moreira da Silva, the centre-left wing candidate by a landslide, 72% to 28%, and was elected as the new PSD leader; however, turnout dropped to just above 60%. Montenegro won all the districts in the country and didn't prevail in just 38 municipalities, out of 308.

## Candidates

| Name | Born | Experience | Announcement date | Ref. |
| Luís Montenegro | 16 February 1973 (age 49) Porto | Leader of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Caucus (2011–2017) Member of Parliament for Aveiro (2002–2017) | 29 March 2022 | |
| Jorge Moreira da Silva | 24 April 1971 (age 51) Vila Nova de Famalicão | Leader of the Social Democratic Youth (1995–1998) Member of the European Parliament (1999–2003) Minister of the Environment, Territorial Planning and Energy (2013–2015) Member of Parliament for Lisbon (2005–2006) Member of Parliament for Braga (1995–1999), (2015–2016) | 1 April 2022 | |

### Declined

* Rui Rio – incumbent President of PSD and Leader of the Opposition (2018–2022); former Mayor of Porto (2001–2013);
* Luís Marques Mendes – political commentator; former leader of the PSD (2005–2007);
* Carlos Moedas – Mayor of Lisbon (since 2021); former European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation (2014–2019);
* Pedro Passos Coelho – former Prime Minister (2011–2015); former leader of the PSD (2010–2018);
* Paulo Rangel – Member of the European Parliament (2009–2024); candidate for the party leadership in the 2021 elections;
* Miguel Poiares Maduro – former Minister for Regional Development (2013–2015);
* José Ribau Esteves – Mayor of Aveiro (since 2013); former Mayor of Ílhavo (1998–2013);
* Miguel Pinto Luz – deputy mayor of Cascais (2017–2024); candidate for the party leadership in the 2020 elections;
* Pedro Rodrigues – former Social Democratic Youth leader (2007—2010); former member of the Assembly of the Republic (2019–2022; 2009–2011);
* André Coelho Lima – Member of the Assembly of the Republic from Braga (2019–2024).

## Opinion polls
### All voters

| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Montenegro | Moreira da Silva | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Aximage | 19–24 May 2022 | 805 | 21 | 21 | 58 | Tie |
| Intercampus | 7–15 May 2022 | 611 | 54.7 | 32.1 | 13.2 | 22.6 |

### PSD voters

| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Montenegro | Moreira da Silva | Others /Undecided | Lead |
| Aximage | 19–24 May 2022 | 805 | 41 | 22 | 37 | 19 |

## Results

Summary of the May 2022 PSD leadership election results :
| Candidate | Candidate | 28 May 2022 | 28 May 2022 |
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Luís Montenegro | 19,241 | 72.48 |
| | Jorge Moreira da Silva | 7,306 | 27.52 |
| Total | Total | 26,547 | |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 26,547 | 98.38 |
| Invalid and blank ballots | Invalid and blank ballots | 437 | 1.62 |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 26,984 | 60.46 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 44,628 | |
| Sources: Official results ||||
Vote share
Luis Montenegro
72.48%
Jorge Moreira da Silva
27.52% :

### Results by party federation

The following table shows a breakdown of the results of the election by party federation, which are mostly equal to the electoral circles.
Result breakdown of the 2022 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election :
| Federation | Luís Montenegro | Luís Montenegro | Jorge Moreira da Silva | Jorge Moreira da Silva | Invalid ballots | Votes cast | Registered |
| Federation | Votes | % | Votes | % | Invalid ballots | Votes cast | Registered |
| Algarve | 501 | 58.53 | 355 | 41.47 | 10 | 866 | 1,314 |
| Aveiro | 1,734 | 64.73 | 945 | 35.27 | 56 | 2,735 | 4,581 |
| Baixo Alentejo | 166 | 77.93 | 47 | 22.07 | 3 | 216 | 322 |
| Braga | 2,533 | 66.61 | 1,270 | 33.39 | 68 | 3,871 | 6,533 |
| Bragança | 760 | 85.88 | 125 | 14.12 | 15 | 900 | 1,305 |
| Castelo Branco | 285 | 68.67 | 130 | 31.33 | 9 | 424 | 714 |
| Coimbra | 780 | 75.36 | 255 | 24.64 | 26 | 1,061 | 1,743 |
| Évora | 205 | 75.93 | 65 | 24.07 | 3 | 273 | 463 |
| Guarda | 610 | 76.25 | 190 | 23.75 | 11 | 811 | 1,210 |
| Leiria | 818 | 77.32 | 240 | 22.68 | 21 | 1,079 | 1,934 |
| Lisbon: Urban Area | 2,069 | 69.57 | 905 | 30.43 | 44 | 3,018 | 5,668 |
| Lisbon: Oeste | 173 | 71.19 | 70 | 28.81 | 6 | 249 | 400 |
| Portalegre | 138 | 75.82 | 44 | 24.18 | 1 | 183 | 286 |
| Porto | 3,134 | 72.83 | 1,169 | 27.17 | 75 | 4,378 | 7,671 |
| Santarém | 604 | 77.84 | 172 | 22.16 | 14 | 790 | 1,332 |
| Setúbal | 484 | 66.12 | 248 | 33.88 | 19 | 751 | 1,256 |
| Viana do Castelo | 602 | 74.50 | 206 | 25.50 | 23 | 831 | 1,162 |
| Vila Real | 937 | 80.02 | 234 | 19.98 | 7 | 1,178 | 1,658 |
| Viseu | 1115 | 77.00 | 333 | 23.00 | 10 | 1,458 | 1,989 |
| Azores | 353 | 75.43 | 115 | 24.57 | 2 | 470 | 691 |
| Madeira | 1,152 | 87.71 | 162 | 12.29 | 14 | 1,332 | 2,261 |
| Europe | 75 | 81.52 | 17 | 18.48 | 0 | 92 | 118 |
| Outside of Europe | 9 | 50.00 | 9 | 50.00 | 0 | 18 | 18 |