10.76 million voters are registered for the European elections in Portugal, including citizens from other EU countries.
The number of Portuguese voters living or registered abroad increased from 300,000 to 1.4 million. This increase is partially due to changes in the electoral law, which made registration automatic. Latest census data by the Home Affairs Ministry.
Five main changes to the electoral law make their debut at the European elections: new rules for early voting; Portuguese citizens residing abroad with a citizen’s card are automatically included in the voter register; the end of voters’ numbers; the provision of a Braille matrix for citizens with visual impairments and an e-voting pilot project in the Évora district. Website of the National Election Committee (Comissão Nacional de Eleições)
17 parties and coalitions are competing for the European elections (one more than in 2014). Portugal elects 21 MEPs while there is no electoral threshold.
According to recent polls the Socialist Party comes first electing 9 MEPs (one more than in 2014). The Social Democratic Party (PSD/PPD) and the People’s Party (CDS/PP) both members of the EPP are expected to elect 7 and 1 MEPs respectively. The Left Bloc and the Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU) an alliance between the Communist party and the Ecologist party ‘The Greens’ are expected to elect 2 MEPs each.
