2004 Azorean regional election

The Azores Regional Election, 2004 (Portuguese: Eleições Regionais dos Açores, 2004) was an election held on 17 October 2004 for the legislative assembly and government of the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores, in which the Socialist Party, under the leadership of Carlos César won 57% of the votes, and got an absolute majority, for the 2nd consecutive turn. The Social Democratic Party ran in a coalition with the People's Party, called Azores Coalition, but was massively defeated gathering just 37% of the votes.[2]

2004 Azorean regional election

17 October 2004

52 seats to the Legislative Assembly of Azores
27 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Carlos César Victor do Couto Cruz
Party PS PSD / CDS–PP
Leader's seat São Miguel São Miguel
Last election 30 seats, 49.2% 20 seats, 42.1%[1]
Seats won 31 21
Seat change 1 1
Popular vote 60,140 38,883
Percentage 57.0% 36.8%
Swing 7.8 pp 5.3 pp

President before election

Carlos César
PS

President-designate

Carlos César
PS

Voter turnout increased, for the first time since the 1992 election, with 55.2% of the electorate casting their ballot on election day.

Background

In the Azores, there were 52 seats in the Regional Parliament in dispute, the same of the previous election, in 2000. The seats were distributed by the 9 islands of the archipelago proportionally to the population of each island; however, each island is entitled to at least two members of parliament.

Political parties

A total of 7 parties and/or coalitions ran in these elections. The parties/coalitions listed on the voting ballots were the following:

Results

For a third consecutive term, the Socialist Party won the regional election in Azores, increasing its share of the vote from 49% to 57%, and re-electing Carlos César to the presidency of the Regional Government. César and his party obtained an absolute majority with 31 of the assembly's 52 seats.[3]

The Social Democrats and the People's Party contested these elections in a joint coalition called "Azores Coalition". The coalition achieved a very disappointing result, polling 20% below the Socialists. The PSD/CDS-PP coalition only won 37% of the votes, but was able to increase the number of parliament members to 21, against the combined total of 20 both parties had since 2000. In fact, the bad result from this PSD/CDS-PP coalition was one of the reasons PSD and CDS didn't contest, in a coalition, the 2005 general elections.[4] Due to the strong bipolarization of the race, both PS and PSD/CDS-PP gathered a total of almost 94% of the votes, and due to the application of the Hondt election model in the nine islands, the smaller parties were severely punished. The Unitarian Democratic Coalition (CDU), led by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), saw their share of vote reduced by almost half and they lost all representation in the regional parliament. The Left Bloc also suffered a setback by polling below 1%.

The People's Monarchist Party, the Earth Party and the Democratic Party of the Atlantic also failed to make any inroads.

Summary of votes and seats

 Summary of the 17 October 2004 Legislative Assembly of the Azores election results
Parties Votes % ±pp swing MPs MPs %/
votes %
2000 2004 ± % ±
Socialist 60,14056.977.83031159.621.91.05
Azores Coalition (PSD / CDS–PP) 38,88336.845.32021140.381.91.10
Democratic Unity Coalition 2,9422.792.02020.003.90.0
Left Bloc 1,0220.970.40000.0000.0
Earth 3690.35N/AN/A0N/A0.00N/A0.0
People's Monarchist 2930.28N/AN/A0N/A0.00N/A0.0
Democratic Party of the Atlantic 2480.23N/AN/A0N/A0.00N/A0.0
Total valid 103,897 98.43 0.2 52 52 0 100.00 0.0
Blank ballots 8790.830.1
Invalid ballots 7800.740.1
Total 105,556 100.00
Registered voters/turnout 191,12755.231.9
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições
Vote share
PS
56.97%
CA (PSD/CDS-PP)
36.84%
CDU
2.79%
BE
0.97%
MPT
0.35%
PPM
0.28%
PDA
0.23%
Blank/Invalid
1.57%
Parliamentary seats
PS
59.62%
CA (PSD/CDS-PP)
40.38%

Distribution by constituency

 Results of the 2004 election of the
Legislative Assembly of Azores
by constituency
Constituency%S%S Total
S
PS CA
Corvo 49.4 1 36.1 1 2
Faial 39.8 2 40.2 2 4
Flores 46.2 2 35.9 1 3
Graciosa 52.7 2 44.3 1 3
Pico 49.4 2 46.3 2 4
Santa Maria 68.7 2 25.5 1 3
São Jorge 44.3 2 50.7 2 4
São Miguel 65.6 12 33.8 7 19
Terceira 59.1 6 37.0 4 10
Total 57.0 31 36.8 21 52
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

References

  1. PSD: 32.5%, 18 seats; CDS-PP: 9.6%, 2 seats.
  2. Maioria Absoluta nos Açores, Correio da Manhã, 17 October 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  3. Os Senhores das Ilhas, Correio da Manhã, 17 October 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  4. As eleições e a Coligação, Correio da Manhã, 24 October 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2018.

See also

  • 2004 Madeira regional election
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