The 2021 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election was held on 27 November. 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 1 December, however, as only two candidates will be on the ballot, a second round will not be necessary. The original date for the first round was 4 December, but the party decided to advance the date by a week. Nearly 47,000 party members, out of more than 85,000 active members, were registered to vote.

One issue identified during the campaign was the rise of the far-right Chega!. Though neither candidate said they would invite the party into government, Rio signalled he would be open to negotiating with them on a case-by-case basis, while Rangel ruled this out, saying he would only negotiate with CDS – People's Party and Liberal Initiative.

Rui Rio defeated Paulo Rangel by a 52.4% to 47.6% margin and was reelected for a 3rd term as party leader. He led the party into the 2022 snap general elections, which he lost, losing 2 seats in the Assembly of the Republic and that resulted in an absolute majority to the Socialist Party.

Candidates

NameBornExperienceAnnouncement dateRef. Paulo Rangel (age 53)Vila Nova de Gaia Member of the European Parliament (2009–2024)Leader of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Caucus (2008–2009)Member of Parliament for Porto (2005–2009)15 October 2021 Rui Rio (age 64)Porto President of the Social Democratic Party (2018–2022)Leader of the Opposition (2018–2022)Member of Parliament for Porto (2019–2022)Mayor of Porto (2001–2013)Member of Parliament for Porto (1991–2002)19 October 2021

Withdrew Nuno Miguel Henriques – incumbent city councillor in Alenquer (2021–2025) and failed candidate for the PSD leadership in 2012;

Declined Pedro Passos Coelho – former Prime Minister (2011–2015) and PSD leader (2010–2018); Luís Montenegro – former PSD caucus leader (2011–2017) and candidate for the party's leadership in 2020; Miguel Pinto Luz – Deputy mayor of Cascais (2017–2024) and candidate for the party's leadership in 2020; Miguel Poiares Maduro – former Minister for Regional Development (2013–2015); Jorge Moreira da Silva – former Environment Minister (2013–2015);

Opinion polls All voters Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Others/Undecided LeadRui RioPaulo RangelIntercampus 5–11 Nov 2021 61249.3 34.3 16.3 15 CESOP–UCP 29 Oct–4 Nov 2021 87843 32 25 11 Aximage 28–31 Oct 2021 80338 31 31 7

PSD voters Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Others/Undecided LeadRui RioPaulo RangelPitagórica 10–15 Nov 2021 ?58 27 15 31 CESOP–UCP 29 Oct–4 Nov 2021 ?48 41 11 7 Aximage 28–31 Oct 2021 ?54 37 9 17

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample sizeRui RioLuís MontenegroMiguel Pinto LuzPaulo RangelPedro Passos CoelhoMiguel Poiares MaduroJorge Moreira da SilvaPedro Duarte Others/Undecided LeadIntercampus14–23 Sep 2021609 15.8 3.034.3 27.8 5.4 3.6 10.2 6.5 Intercampus 13–20 Aug 2021 612 8.8 10.3 17.3 16.5 7.8 39.2 0.8

Results + Summary of the November 2021 PSD leadership election results Candidate 27 November 2021 Votes % Rui Rio 18,852 52.43 Paulo Rangel 17,106 47.57 Total 35,958 Valid votes 35,958 98.58 Invalid and blank ballots 518 1.42 Votes cast / turnout 36,476 78.17 Registered voters 46,664 Sources: Official results

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 2021 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership electionFederationRui RioPaulo RangelInvalid ballotsVotes castRegisteredVotes%Votes%Algarve51153.5644346.44189721,354Aveiro2,30161.161,40137.84853,7874,575Baixo Alentejo10938.3817561.621285337Braga2,61552.312,38447.69785,0776,419Bragança66462.1140537.8991,0781,321Castelo Branco28047.2231352.7813606820Coimbra63246.1373853.87261,3961,838Évora20852.5318847.475401514Guarda41735.8274764.1891,1731,420Leiria70554.0659945.94141,3181,990Lisbon: Urban Area1,70340.302,52359.70644,2906,033Lisbon: Oeste13045.6115554.394289385Portalegre10648.6211251.385223285Porto3,82159.322,62040.68696,5107,930Santarém57454.5647845.44181,0701,403Setúbal37136.0565863.95141,0431,300Viana do Castelo61657.9544742.05151,0781,259Vila Real54337.6889862.32221,4631,814Viseu83554.6169445.39221,5511,882Azores48577.6014022.4011636796Madeira1,18357.0189242.99142,0892,797Europe3635.296664.712104150Outside of Europe718.923081.0803742

See also Social Democratic Party (Portugal) List of political parties in Portugal Elections in Portugal

References

External links PSD Official website