With a record 11 candidates for the next Portuguese President of the Republic, citizens had to select their favourite candidate to represent the country abroad, to be the head of the armed forces, and to approve or disapprove laws passed by Parliament.

A winner, but not elected


António José Seguro was the winner of the first round of presidential elections, accounting 31,21% of the votes, that is, 1.738.741 citizens voted for him. However, in this particular election, the percentage is not enough to give the victory to António José Seguro, as the President of the Republic can only be elected if having the majority of the votes.

André Ventura reached second place, with 23,29% of the votes, that is 1.297.533 votes from the citizens. The third place was occupied by João Cotrim de Figueiredo, with 16,01% of the votes, totalling 891.788 votes.

Henrique Gouveia e Melo was the 4th most voted candidate, with 12,41% of the votes, followed by Luís Marques Mendes, with 11,34% of the votes.

Catarina Martins, the candidate supported by Bloco de Esquerda, gathered 2,05% of the votes, followed by António Filipe, the PCP candidate, with 1,65% of the votes. Still with 1,08% of the votes, Manuel João Vieira, the musician who ran a satirical candidacy, is in 2nd place.

Three candidates received less than 1% of the votes: Jorge Pinto (0,68%), André Pestana da Silva (0,19%) and Humberto Correia (0,08%).

1,07% of the votes were blank, while 1,14% were considered null.

Results by district

Similarly, as in legislative elections, André Ventura was the most voted candidate in the Algarve, with 33,02% of the votes, followed by António José Seguro, with 26,93% of the votes. As in the national results, João Cotrim de Figueiredo was the third most voted candidate in the Algarve, followed by Henrique Gouveia e Melo and Luís Marques Mendes.

In Lisbon, António José Seguro was the most voted candidate, with 32,45% of the vote, once again followed by André Ventura, with 20,06% of the vote. João Cotrim de Figueiredo gathered 19,30% of the votes in Lisbon, followed by Henrique Gouveia e Melo (12,98%).

In Porto, the situation is also the same, with António José Seguro securing the victory with 31,77% of the votes, followed by André Ventura (20,87%) and João Cotrim de Figueiredo (17,50%). However, in this North district, Luís Marques Mendes managed to secure the 4th place with 12,33% of the votes, followed by Henrique Gouveia e Melo, with 12,14% of the votes.

In most of the country, António José Seguro and André Ventura were in first or second place. While António José Seguro managed to get the most votes in every district, it did not happen in Faro or in Madeira. In Madeira, André Ventura was the most voted candidate, gathering 33,40% of the votes, followed by António José Seguro, who got 22,81% of the votes, followed by Luís Marques Mendes and João Cotrim de Figueiredo, with 14,67% and 14,38% of the votes, respectively.

Trying again

It was the second time André Ventura had tried to become President of the Republic in Portugal. In 2021, the leader of Chega ran for the presidency; however, his results were very different from those in 2026.

In 2021, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was elected without a second round, with 60,71% of the vote. This year, André Ventura secured third place, placing behind Ana Gomes.

Although not all the votes had been counted yet, André Ventura managed to increase his vote total compared to 2021. In the last elections, the Chega leader obtained 11,90% of the votes, against the 23,52% achieved so far.

Second round

The last time a second round for presidential elections was needed was 40 years ago. This time, between António José Seguro and André Ventura.

The law requires the second round of the elections to be held 21 days after the first election day. This means it must happen on 8 February; the date may vary for Portuguese living abroad, where the election may be held on 7 February.

Anticipated voting will also take place, with requests from 25 to 29 January and elections on 1 February.

António José Seguro and André Ventura will have a campaign period from 27 to 31 January, ending on 6 February.

Once the President of the Republic is elected, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will remain in office until 9 March, when the new president will take office.

Prime Minister reaction

Luís Montenegro, leader of PSD, was supporting the candidature of Luís Marques Mendes, who did not make it to the second round.

Following that, the Prime Minister stated that they will not support any candidate in the second round, expressing acceptance of the Portuguese people’s democratic choice in the elections.