The 2015 legislative elections in Portugal: A constitutional analysis

Abstract

The 1976 Portuguese Constitution implemented a hybrid government system known as semi-presidential. This modality combines characteristics from the two more conventional systems: the presidential and the parliamentarian. In this context, the selection of the Prime-Minister does not directly come from the voters. Instead, it results from the Presidential nomination bearing in consideration the results of the legislative elections. Furthermore, it also lacks the majoritarian support from the National Parliament. Hence, the government becomes an organ political accountable before the President and the Parliament. The current Parliament was elected on October 4, 2015. Yet, the electoral results were striking, as they allowed more than one possibility for the formation of the Portuguese government, including post-electoral partisan agreements, which was an unprecedent situation in the country. The present paper aims to describe the electoral process referred to above, through factual analysis and its constitutional framework.