Assembly of the Republic Assembleia da República | |
|---|---|
| 15th Assembly of the Republic | |
  Emblem and Flag of the Assembly | |
 Logo of the Assembly | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Vice-Presidents |
|
| Structure | |
| Seats | 230 |
 | |
Political groups | Government (120)
Opposition (110) |
| Elections | |
| Closed list proportional representation D'Hondt method | |
Last election | 30 January 2022 |
Next election | 10 March 2024 |
| Meeting place | |
| São Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal | |
| Website | |
| parlamento | |
_Pal%C3%A1cio_de_S%C3%A3o_Bento%252C_Lisboa.JPG.webp)
 |
|---|
| Constitution |
The Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese: Assembleia da República, pronounced [ɐsẽˈblɐjɐ ðɐ ʁɛˈpuβlikɐ]), commonly referred to as simply Parliament (Portuguese: Parlamento), is the unicameral parliament of Portugal. According to the Constitution of Portugal, the parliament "is the representative assembly of all Portuguese citizens". The constitution names the assembly as one of the country's organs of supreme authority.
It meets in a historical building in Lisbon, the Palácio de São Bento (Palace of Saint Benedict), the site of an old Benedictine monastery. The Palácio has been the seat of the Portuguese parliaments since 1834 (Cortes until 1910, Congress from 1911 to 1926 and National Assembly from 1933 to 1974).
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced on November 9, 2023, that he will dissolve parliament in early December 2023 because of the resignation of the current government in the wake of a corruption scandal. New elections are expected to be held on March 10, 2024.[1]
Powers and duties of the Assembly
The Assembly of the Republic's powers derive from its ability to dismiss a government through a vote of no confidence, to change the country's laws, and to amend the constitution (which requires a majority of two-thirds). In addition to these key powers, the constitution grants to the Assembly extensive legislative powers and substantial control over the budget, the right to authorize the government to raise taxes and grant loans, the power to ratify treaties and other kinds of international agreements, and the duty to approve or reject decisions by the President of the Republic to declare war and make peace. The assembly also appoints many members of important state institutions, such as ten of the thirteen members of the Constitutional Court and seven of the sixteen members of the Council of State.
The constitution requires the assembly to quickly review and approve an incoming government's program. Parliamentary rules allow the assembly to call for committees of inquiry to examine the government's actions. Political opposition represented in the assembly has the power to review the cabinet's actions, even though it is unlikely that the actions can be reversed. Party groups can also call for interpellations that require debates about specific government policies.
Structure
The assembly originally consisted of 250 MPs, but the constitutional reforms of 1989 reduced its number to between 180 and 230. Members are elected by popular vote for legislative terms of four years from the country's twenty-two constituencies. There are eighteen in mainland Portugal corresponding to each district, one each for the autonomous regions of Azores (Portuguese: Açores) and Madeira, and two for Portuguese people living abroad (one covering Europe and one covering the rest of the world).[lower-alpha 1] Except for the constituencies for Portuguese living abroad, which are fixed at two representatives each, the number of MPs is determined by the number of voters registered in a constituency, using the D'Hondt method of proportional representation. Constituencies vary greatly in size; from as large as the district of Lisbon, which returns 48 representatives, to as small as the district of Portalegre, which elects just two.
For the 2022 legislative elections, the MPs distributed by districts were as follows:[4]
| District | Number of MPs | Map |
|---|---|---|
| Lisbon | 48 |  |
| Porto | 40 | |
| Braga | 19 | |
| Setúbal | 18 | |
| Aveiro | 16 | |
| Leiria | 10 | |
| Coimbra, Faro and Santarém | 9 each | |
| Viseu | 8 | |
| Madeira and Viana do Castelo | 6 each | |
| Azores and Vila Real | 5 each | |
| Castelo Branco | 4 | |
| Beja, Bragança, Évora and Guarda | 3 each | |
| Portalegre, Europe and Outside Europe[lower-alpha 1] | 2 each |
According to the constitution, members of the assembly represent the entire country, not the constituency from which they are elected. This directive has been reinforced in practice by the strong role of political parties in regard to members of the assembly. Party leadership, for example, determines in which areas candidates are to run for office, thus often weakening members' ties to their constituencies. Moreover, members of the assembly are expected to vote with their party and to work within parliamentary groups based on party membership. Party discipline is strong, and insubordinate members can be coerced through a variety of means. A further obstacle to members' independence is that their bills first have to be submitted to the parliamentary groups, and it is these groups' leaders who set the assembly's agenda.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic is the second hierarchical figure in the Portuguese state, after the President of the Portuguese Republic, and is elected by secret vote of the members of parliament. The President of the Assembly is aided by four vice presidents, nominated by the other parties represented in the parliament, and is usually the speaker. When they are not present, one of the vice presidents takes the role of speaker. When the President of the Republic is, for any reason, unable to perform the job, the President of the Assembly of the Republic becomes the substitute.
Current composition
| Party | Parliamentary group leader | Seats | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialist Party | Eurico Brilhante Dias | 120 | 52.2 | |
| Social Democratic Party | Joaquim Miranda Sarmento | 77 | 33.5 | |
| CHEGA | Pedro Pinto | 12 | 5.2 | |
| Liberal Initiative | Rodrigo Saraiva | 8 | 3.5 | |
| Portuguese Communist Party | Paula Santos | 6 | 2.6 | |
| Left Bloc | Pedro Filipe Soares | 5 | 2.2 | |
| People-Animals-Nature | Inês Sousa Real | 1 | 0.4 | |
| LIVRE | Rui Tavares | 1 | 0.4 | |
| Total | 230 | 100.0 | ||
Latest election result
 | |||||||||||||||
| Parties | Votes | % | ±pp swing | MPs | MPs %/ votes % | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2022 | ± | % | ± | |||||||||||
| Socialist | 2,302,601 | 41.38 |  5.1 | 108 | 120 | 12 | 52.17 | 5.2 | 1.26 | ||||||
| Social Democratic[lower-alpha 2] | 1,539,415 | 27.66 | 1.3 | 74 | 72 |  2 | 31.30 | 0.8 | 1.13 | ||||||
| CHEGA | 399,659 | 7.18 | 5.9 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 5.22 | 4.8 | 0.73 | ||||||
| Liberal Initiative | 273,687 | 4.92 | 3.6 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 3.48 | 3.0 | 0.71 | ||||||
| Left Bloc | 244,603 | 4.40 | 5.1 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 2.17 | 6.2 | 0.49 | ||||||
| Unitary Democratic Coalition | 238,920 | 4.29 | 2.0 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 2.61 | 2.6 | 0.61 | ||||||
| People's[lower-alpha 2] | 89,181 | 1.60 | 2.4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.00 | 2.2 | 0.0 | ||||||
| People-Animals-Nature | 88,152 | 1.58 | 1.7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.43 | 1.3 | 0.26 | ||||||
| LIVRE | 71,232 | 1.28 | 0.2 | 1 | 1 |  0 | 0.43 | 0.0 | 0.33 | ||||||
| Madeira First (PSD/CDS–PP)[lower-alpha 3] | 50,636 | 0.91 | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.30 | 0.0 | 1.43 | ||||||
| Democratic Alliance (PSD/CDS–PP/PPM)[lower-alpha 4] | 28,330 | 0.51 | 0.1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.87 | 0.0 | 1.71 | ||||||
| React, Include, Recycle | 23,233 | 0.42 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist | 11,265 | 0.20 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| National Democratic Alternative[lower-alpha 5] | 10,874 | 0.20 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Together for the People | 10,786 | 0.19 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Earth | 7,561 | 0.14 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Volt Portugal | 6,240 | 0.11 | — | — | 0 | — | 0.00 | — | 0.0 | ||||||
| Socialist Alternative Movement | 6,157 | 0.11 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Rise Up[lower-alpha 6] | 5,043 | 0.09 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| We, the Citizens! | 3,880 | 0.07 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Labour | 3,533 | 0.06 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Alliance | 2,467 | 0.04 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| People's Monarchist[lower-alpha 7] | 260 | 0.00 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||||||
| Total valid | 5,417,715 | 97.36 | 2.3 |
230 | 230 | 0 |
100.00 | 0 |
— | ||||||
| Blank ballots | 63,103 | 1.13 | 1.4 | ||||||||||||
| Invalid ballots | 83,721 | 1.50 | 0.9 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 5,564,539 | 100.00 | |||||||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 10,813,246 | 51.46 | 2.9 | ||||||||||||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[5] | |||||||||||||||
Elected Composition of the Assembly of the Republic since 1975
| Election | No. | Parliament | Parties represented | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government | Opposition | ||||
| Constituent 1975 |
 |
PS (116) PPD (81) PCP (30) CDS (16) MDP (5) UDP (1) ADIM (1) |
1975–1976 | ||
| 1976 | 1st |  |
PS (107) | PPD (73) CDS (42) PCP (40) UDP (1) |
1976–1978 |
| PS (107) CDS (42) |
PPD/PSD (73) PCP (40) UDP (1) |
1978 | |||
| Presidential appointed governments | PS (107) PPD/PSD (73) CDS (42) PCP (40) UDP (1) |
1978–1979 | |||
| 1979 |  |
PPD/PSD (80) CDS (43) PPM (5) |
PS (74) PCP (44) MDP (3) UDP (1) |
1979–1980 | |
| 1980 | 2nd |  |
PPD/PSD (82) CDS (46) PPM (6) |
PS (66) PCP (39) UEDS (4) ASDI (4) MDP (2) UDP (1) |
1980–1983 |
| 1983 | 3th |  |
PS (94) PPD/PSD (75) UEDS (4) ASDI (3) |
PCP (41) CDS (30) MDP (3) |
1983–1985 |
| 1985 | 4th |  |
PPD/PSD (88) PRD (45)[lower-alpha 8] CDS (22)[lower-alpha 8] |
PS (57) PCP (35) MDP (3) |
1985–1987 |
| 1987 | 5th |  |
PPD/PSD (148) | PS (60) PCP (29) PRD (7) CDS (4) PEV (2) |
1987–1991 |
| 1991 | 6th |  |
PPD/PSD (135) | PS (72) PCP (15) CDS (5) PEV (2) PSN (1) |
1991–1995 |
| 1995 | 7th |  |
PS (112) | PPD/PSD (88) CDS–PP (15) PCP (13) PEV (2) |
1995–1999 |
| 1999 | 8th |  |
PS (115) | PPD/PSD (81) CDS–PP (15) PCP (15) PEV (2) BE (2) |
1999–2002 |
| 2002 | 9th |  |
PPD/PSD (105) CDS–PP (14) |
PS (96) PCP (10) BE (3) PEV (2) |
2002–2005 |
| 2005 | 10th |  |
PS (121) | PPD/PSD (71) CDS–PP (12) PCP (12) BE (8) PEV (2) PPM (2) MPT (2) |
2005–2009 |
| 2009 | 11th |  |
PS (97) | PPD/PSD (81) CDS–PP (21) BE (16) PCP (13) PEV (2) |
2009–2011 |
| 2011 | 12th |  |
PPD/PSD (108) CDS–PP (24) |
PS (74) PCP (14) BE (8) PEV (2) |
2011–2015 |
| 2015 | 13th |  |
PPD/PSD (89) CDS–PP (18) |
PS (86) BE (19) PCP (15) PEV (2) PAN (1) |
2015 |
| PS (86) BE (19)[lower-alpha 8] PCP (15)[lower-alpha 8] PEV (2)[lower-alpha 8] |
PPD/PSD (89) CDS–PP (18) PAN (1) |
2015–2019 | |||
| 2019 | 14th |  |
PS (108) | PPD/PSD (79) BE (19) PCP (10) CDS–PP (5) PAN (4) PEV (2) CH (1) IL (1) L (1) |
2019–2022 |
| 2022 | 15th | |
PS (120) | PPD/PSD (77) CH (12) IL (8) PCP (6) BE (5) PAN (1) L (1) |
2022–present |
Evolution graphic
- CH
- ADIM
- PPM
- CDS
- IL
- PSN
- MPT
- PPD/PSD
- ASDI
- PRD
- PAN
- PS
- UEDS
- L
- PCP
- PEV
- BE
- MDP
- UDP
Presidents of the Assembly of the Republic
See also
Notes
- 1 2 All of Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Cyprus, Denmark (including the Faroe Islands and Greenland), France (including Overseas France), Georgia, Lebanon, Netherlands (including the Dutch Caribbean), Russia (including its Asian part), Spain (including the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla), Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey (including its Asian part), Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are included in the constituency of Europe, despite being partially or entirely outside geographic Europe. All of Kazakhstan, including its geographically European part, is included in the constituency of Outside Europe.[2][3]
- 1 2 Only in mainland Portugal and overseas constituencies.
- ↑ In Madeira, the PSD and the CDS–PP contested the elections in a coalition called Madeira First (Madeira Primeiro).
- ↑ In Azores, the PSD, the CDS–PP, and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM) contested the elections in a coalition called Democratic Alliance (Aliança Democrática).
- ↑ In September 2021, the Democratic Republican Party (PDR) changed its name to the National Democratic Alternative (ADN).
- ↑ In July 2020, the National Renovator Party (PNR) changed its name to Rise Up (E).
- ↑ PPM list only in Madeira
- 1 2 3 4 5 Confidence & supply gov't
References
- ↑ "Portugal to Hold Snap Election in March After Probe Toppled Prime Minister". Bloomberg.com. 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
- ↑ Number of voters by district/island/continent, council/country, parish/consulate and consular post, for the legislative elections to the Assembly of the Republic of 30 January 2022, Ministry of Internal Administration of Portugal, 15 January 2022 (in Portuguese).
- ↑ Number of voters and consular posts by electoral constituency, for the election to the Council of Portuguese Communities of 26 November 2023, National Elections Commission of Portugal (in Portuguese).
- ↑ "Official map no. 1-C/2021" (PDF) (in Portuguese). National Elections Commission of Portugal. 6 December 2021.
- ↑ "Mapa Oficial n.º 1/2022" (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. 26 March 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
External links
