A party source explains to DN that these same uncertainties advised a different decision for the candidacy for the council. However, at the polls she became the first woman to lead the municipality, with 43.5% of the votes. The three mandates do not guarantee it a majority and the PS, which had António Figueiredo in the contest, has two councilors, as a result of just over 23% of the vote. It will be seen whether the socialists support Pimentel or whether the PSD is making policies viable (it also has two councilors).
In Soure, Rui Fernandes left the PS to lead an independent list. He was elected by the “New Cycle” movement and removed the socialists from the presidency of that municipality, where he had led for 20 years. The movement obtained 37.8% (4063 votes) and three were elected, the same number of people elected by the PS, led by João Gouveia, which had 33.8% (3629 votes). Carlos Easter, from the PSD, can serve as a tiebreaker, without the need for negotiation with the PS.
Finally, in the district of Coimbra, also in Vila Nova de Poiares, there was dissent from the PS. Nuno Neves was president of the Parish Council of Poiares (Santo André) and was passed over by the council, which opted for Lara Oliveira. It won with 40.39%, followed by the PSD, with 34.91%, leaving the PS with only 16.35%. In all three cases, it was an election in which the incumbents left, but the council’s choices, as the DN knows, will be analyzed by national bodies. In several cases in Coimbra, there were effective disaffiliations, however, in the case of candidacy, the PS statutes place a candidacy outside the PS sphere as a “disciplinary infraction, qualified as serious misconduct”, leading to expulsion.
In the district of Braga, in Vizela, the current mayor, Victor Hugo Salgado, ran again in his own name, for a third term, after the national PS withdrew support for his candidacy due to an investigation into alleged domestic violence. He was the leader of the local council, but was replaced from that role as well. Still, the PS did not present a candidate to dethrone the former activist. The victory by 71.96%, with six out of seven councilors, is one of the most enlightening in the country. In his victory speech he spoke of “ungrateful, rats and frustrated”.
In Figueiró dos Vinhos, in the Leiria district, Carlos Lopes made a long journey as an independent: a former socialist deputy, passed over by the party 12 years ago in favor of Jorge Abreu, he was a councilor elected in 2017 and 2021 and achieved the long-awaited victory. It benefited from the departure of the incumbent and the controversial socialist choice to bet on former social democrat José Carlos Quintas. The PS, with 20%, had just under half of the former deputy, who now, with two councilors, is either negotiating with the PSD or with the old party.
In Salvaterra de Magos, Santarém, the Juntos Fazemos Mais Movement obtained 38% of the votes and won in all parishes. Helena Neves was a communist activist, was a deputy for the Bloco de Esquerda and was part of the municipality as vice-president. She was not chosen and received 38% of the votes and three councilors.
In Setúbal, in Montijo, 28 years of socialist governance were broken. Fernando Caria headed the Montijo com Visão e Coração project. After serving as president of the Junta da União das Freguesias de Montijo and Afonsoeiro for three terms, elected by the PS, he advanced as an independent and frustrated the socialists, but also Chega, who believed in victory. Caria has three councilors, Chega two, PS and PSD one each. The request for a recount of votes from Chega, after the defeat by 600 votes, allowed the PS to gain, indeed, another deputy in the Municipal Assembly.
Finally, in the Azores, in Santa Cruz das Flores, Maria Nóia won the PSD by seven votes and frustrated the old party, where she was on the lists several times in Flores. Ivan Castro, businessman, had been chosen to succeed José Carlos Mendes, due to term limits, but the PS was the third most voted force.