Lisbon's Political Map Painted Pink and Orange: A Divided City After Local Elections

A City Divided: Lisbon's Parish Council Elections Results

The October 12 local elections in Lisbon resulted in a city divided with a political balance between colors in the parish councils. The coalition led by Alexandra Leitão secured 12 parish leaderships, while the coalition led by Carlos Moedas won 11. The CDU maintained its only stronghold in the city, and Chega did not win any parish presidencies but established itself as a local political force to be reckoned with.

In the parish councils, the PS-led coalition balanced its presence with 12 victories, but Lisbon is divided. The 24 parish councils of Lisbon are split between the coalition grouping socialists, Livre, PAN, and BE, led by Alexandra Leitão, and the coalition led by Carlos Moedas (PPD-PSD/CDS/IL). However, the CDU managed to survive in its stronghold, Carnide, transformed into the indomitable Asterix village.

As a result of these elections, the city of Lisbon was "painted" pink but also orange, in a color palette where the red of the parish of Carnide, the last communist stronghold in the capital, stands out, re-electing a candidate of this political color.

The October 12 local elections dictated an almost equal distribution in the 24 administrative areas of the municipality: 12 parishes for the PS, 11 for the PSD, and one for the CDU. Among the novelties and changes, it was recorded, for example, that the coalition led by Carlos Moedas, "Por Ti, Lisboa," took Campo de Ourique and Campolide from the PS; and in Arroios, Madalena Natividade (Por Ti, Lisboa – CDS) was overtaken by one of the newcomers to the parish council presidencies, João Jaime Pires (independent, supported by the PS). Also noteworthy is the case of Carnide, the only CDU parish in the city, where Fábio Sousa stepped down to make way for his party colleague, Susana Cruz.

Chega Out of Leadership

Despite Chega's growth in the legislative elections, the transfer of votes to the local elections did not bring the results that the leadership of Ventura's party would have expected. It was in Marvila that the most votes were recorded (in the last legislative elections in March, this is where the most votes were cast for this political force – the party came in second place, with an expression of 25.98%). Conversely, in Alvalade, Belém, and Santo António, Chega did not have noteworthy results.

There were no major surprises in the results of the parish council presidents elected for the 2025-2029 term in the Portuguese capital, though the elected in Campolide and Arroios, where candidates José Cerdeira and João Jaime Pires, respectively, achieved results that exceeded the most optimistic expectations, caused some surprise.

Incumbents with Absolute Majority

Among the 24 parishes of the capital, six incumbents stood out, five cases of success with an absolute majority, one of resistance, and two of evolution in continuity.

Here are some examples of mayors who were re-elected for a new term with an absolute majority:

• The socialist Jorge Marques remained firm in Ajuda, conquering an absolute majority that will give him room to maneuver to exercise leadership without setbacks. The architect Jorge Marques won almost double the votes of the right-wing coalition "Por ti, Lisboa." The coalition led by the socialist obtained 3,095 votes compared to 1,587 votes for the PPD/PSD.CDS-PP.IL coalition, but now the Ajuda Parish Assembly will have two members from Chega, something that did not happen in the previous term.

• The social democrat Daniel Gonçalves, re-elected by the coalition "Por ti, Lisboa," in the Avenidas Novas parish, is another success story among Lisbon mayors. He was re-elected with almost double the votes of the candidate from the "Viver Lisboa" coalition, conquering a comfortable absolute majority of the Parish Assembly, located in one of the capital's noble areas.

• The also social democrat Pedro Jesus, in Areeiro, also conquered an absolute majority that will give him enough tranquility to exercise the leadership of a municipality with his personal stamp. Pedro Jesus replaced the previous president Fernando Braamcamp and managed to win the trust of the parishioners through hard work.

• The social democrat José da Câmara (Por ti, Lisboa – PSD) remains in the presidency – 46.24%, conquering a comfortable majority that will allow him to continue leading São Domingos de Benfica without the constraints of having to "negotiate" with the opposition. In these elections, José da Câmara had more votes than in 2021 (8,585 in 2025 versus 6,024 in 2021), managing to elect two more representatives in the Parish Assembly. However, there is a problem with 61 votes that were left out of the initial count due to "printing error" of the ballots, but these votes may have more weight in the final count in the fight to elect one more councilor between the CDU and Chega than in the election for the parish council, as they do not change the overall results for the parish of São Domingos de Benfica.

• The socialist Ricardo Marques (Viver Lisboa – PS) remains in the presidency of the Benfica parish council, thanks to his resounding victory in these elections. Ricardo Marques' victory is uncontested: he obtained 54.45% of the vote, doubling the votes obtained by the "Por ti, Lisboa" coalition, 26.89%.

• In the Marvila parish, there was no absolute majority, but José António Videira (Viver Lisboa – PS) managed to resist the advance of the "Por Ti, Lisboa" coalition and remains in the presidency, being re-elected with 38.22%, which translates to 5,442 votes. The socialist mayor, however, saw the "Por Ti, Lisboa" coalition approach in the voting, conquering 28.17% (4,464 votes), while in the 2021 elections it had a much less expressive number of voters: 15.62% (2,120 votes). That is, the PPD/PSD.CDS-PP.IL coalition doubled the number of voters in Marvila. Chega managed to triple the voters in the parish: 3,759 votes and became the third force in Marvila. The CDU swapped positions with the far-right party and fell to fourth place in voting preferences.

• Filipa Veiga (Por Ti, Lisboa, independent supported by PSD) – won the race for the Santo António Parish Council, with 49.38%, that is, with an absolute majority.

The PPD/PSD.CDS-PP.IL coalition maintained leadership in the Santo António parish in the October 2025 local elections, reinforcing the vote. It conquered 49.38% of the votes and elected the president of the parish council, Filipa Veiga, who replaced Vasco Morgado as president of the Santo António Parish, who could no longer run for re-election as he had already served three terms. The center-right coalition reinforced its position compared to 2021, when it obtained 44.56% of the votes. Filipa Veiga conquered 2,563 votes, while the doctor Lucas Manarte, PS-L-BE-PAN, convinced 32.75% of the electorate, which represents 1,733 votes. With 9.09% of the votes (507 votes), the CDU elected one representative in the Santo António Parish Assembly.

The results of the elections for the Misericórdia parish council were marked by a victory for the "Viver Lisboa" coalition, which translates the consolidation of socialist leadership. In power since 2013, where Carla Madeira served three consecutive terms, the coalition now presented Carla Almeida, who obtained 38.29% (1,599 votes), winning the elections by a difference of 104 votes.

Compared to the previous term, the reinforcement of the left-wing coalition stands out, which increased from 33.09% to 38.29%, but the composition of the parish assembly will be distributed with 5 mandates for each side, as the PPD/PSD.CDS-PP.IL coalition also obtained 5 mandates as a result of the preference of 35.80% of voters (1,495 votes).

It remains to be seen whether Carla Almeida will try to negotiate with the communists to have a calmer management, since the CDU conquered 13.70% (527 votes), two mandates. Chega, in turn, obtained one mandate, thanks to the 304 votes obtained.

Results by Parish

• Ajuda – Jorge Marques (Viver Lisboa – PS) remains in the presidency – 46.56% (3,095 votes)
• Alcântara – Mauro Santos (Viver Lisboa – PS) – 47.99% (2,950 votes)
• Alvalade – Tomás Gonçalves (Por Ti, Lisboa – PSD), remains in the presidency – 46.31% (8,567 votes)
• Areeiro – Pedro Jesus (Por Ti, Lisboa – PSD) – 48.86%, remains in the presidency. (5,679 votes)
• Arroios – João Jaime Pires (Viver Lisboa, independent supported by PS) – 42.34% (5,679 votes)
• Avenidas Novas – Daniel Gonçalves (Por Ti, Lisboa – PSD), remains in the presidency – 50.25% (6,383 votes)
• Beato – Silvino Correia (Viver Lisboa, PS), remains in the presidency – 38.16% (2,044 votes)
• Belém – João Carvalhosa (Por Ti, Lisboa – PSD) – 57.63% (5,058 votes)
• Benfica – Ricardo Marques (Viver Lisboa – PS), remains in the presidency – 54.45% (10,307 votes)
• Campo de Ourique – Ana Mateus (Por Ti, Lisboa – PSD) – 41.24% (4,502 votes)
• Campolide – José Cerdeira (Por Ti, Lisboa – IL) – 39.53% (2,702 votes)
• Carnide – Susana Cruz (CDU) – 41.65% (4,072 votes)
• Estrela – Luís Almeida Mendes (Por Ti, Lisboa – PSD) – 53.47% (4,691 votes)
• Lumiar – Ricardo Mexia (Por Ti, Lisboa – PSD) remains in the presidency – 46.06% (11,782 votes)
• Marvila – José António Videira (Viver Lisboa – PS) remains in the presidency – 38.22% (6,059 votes)
• Misericórdia – Carla Almeida (Viver Lisboa – PS) – 38.29% (1,599 votes)
• Olivais – Iara Ferreira (Viver Lisboa – PS) – 29.16% (4,697 votes)
• Parque das Nações – Carlos Ardisson (Por Ti, Lisboa – CDS) remains in the presidency – 49.84% (5,308 votes)
• Penha de França – Elisa Madureira (Viver Lisboa – PS) – 39.56% (4,834 votes)
• Santa Clara – Carlos Manuel Castro (Viver Lisboa – PS) – 32.41% (2,962 votes)
• Santa Maria Maior – Maria João Correia (Viver Lisboa – PS) – 40.95% (1,448 votes)
• Santo António – Filipa Veiga (Por Ti, Lisboa, independent supported by PSD) – 49.38% (2,613 votes)
• São Domingos de Benfica – José da Câmara (Por Ti, Lisboa – PSD) remains in the presidency – 46.24% (8,585 votes)
• São Vicente – André Bivetti (Viver Lisboa – PS) – 40.33% (2,339 votes)

The race for the Lisbon City Council had Carlos Moedas as the winner. Moedas had 30,000 more votes compared to the previous elections and managed to elect one more councilor (increased from seven to eight), but remains one councilor short of a majority. In response to journalists, the mayor refused to establish coalitions with Chega, which elected two councilors, but promised to try to find governance solutions typical of democratic regimes.