2014 Portuguese Socialist Party prime ministerial primary

The 2014 Portuguese Socialist Party prime ministerial primary was held on 28 September 2014 and was the first primary open for non members of the Socialist Party and it elected the party's candidate for Prime Minister for the 2015 general election. It's the first time in Portugal that a party has an open primary. There were only two candidates running, António José Seguro current general secretary of the party and António Costa current mayor of Lisbon. António Costa won the primary by a landslide, achieving about 68% of the votes against the 32% of António José Seguro.

Portuguese Socialist Party prime ministerial primary, 2014
28 September 2014
 
Nominee António Costa António José Seguro
Party PS PS
Popular vote 120,188 55,928
Percentage 67.8% 31.5%
Winner by municipality

After the first results were announced, Seguro conceded defeat and resigned as Secretary-General of the Party.[1]

Background

Following the narrow victory of the Socialist Party over the coalition between the PSD and the CDS-PP in the European elections on 25 May 2014, many Socialist Party members and supporters considered the result a disappointment and many blamed Seguro for not being a real alternative to the Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD). On 27 May, António Costa announced that he would seek the leadership of the Socialist Party.[2]

António José Seguro refused to initiate a leadership contest and accused António Costa of being an opportunist who had broken the deal the two made in early 2013, when António Costa was considering challenging Seguro.[3]

After a bitter meeting of the party leadership members, António Costa included, it was agreed to call a primary election open to supporters of the Socialist Party that would elect the party's candidate for Prime Minister for the following legislative elections in October 2015.[4]

Voting procedures

Calendar

Nominations for the candidacy were opened on 15 July 2014 and closed on 14 August 2014. To be able to vote, voters had to registered between 15 July 2014 and 12 September 2014.

Conditions

Unlike previous Socialist Party leadership elections, this was the first primary to be open to the general public. In order to participate to the open primary, voters had to meet the following conditions:

  • Members of the party are automatically registered to vote;
  • Registered in the Portuguese electoral lists;
  • Sign a declaration of political principles to the values of the Party: "freedom, equality and solidarity and with the compromise of fighting for human rights, justice and peace.";[5]

Candidates

Opinion Polling
Date(s)
administered		 Poll source Sample size Others/
Undecided		 Lead
Seguro Costa
29 Sep Election result 177,350 31.5 67.8 0.7 36.3
24–25 Sep Eurosondagem 1,001 33.0 50.4 16.6 17.4
4–9 Sep Eurosondagem 1,011 32.9 55.1 12.0 22.2
31 Aug–3 Sep Aximage 602 26.4 60.9 12.7 34.5
31 Jul–6 Aug Eurosondagem 1,033 30.0 59.2 10.8 29.2
3–9 Jul Eurosondagem 1,014 24.9 68.3 6.8 43.4
4–7 Jul Aximage 593 26.4 64.1 9.5 37.7
2–5 Jun Eurosondagem 1,025 36.0 56.2 7.8 20.2
1–4 Jun Aximage 608 19.6 62.8 17.6 43.2
30 May–1 Jun Pitagórica 506 18.2 60.5 21.3 42.3
2014

Results
 Summary of the 28 September 2014 Portuguese Socialist Party prime ministerial primary
Candidates Parties Votes %
António Costa Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) PS 120,188 67.77
António José Seguro Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) PS 55,928 31.54
Total Valid 176,116 99.30
Spoilt and null votes1,234 0.70
Total 177,350 100.00
Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout 250,811 70.71
Source: Primárias 2014 Resultados
Vote share
António Costa
 
 67.77%
António José Seguro
 
 31.54%
Blank/Invalid
 
 0.70%

References
  1. Miguel, Marujo (28 September 2014). "Seguro assume derrota e demite-se da liderança do PS". Diário de Notícias. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  2. Nuno, Sá Lourenço (27 May 2014). "António Costa avança para a liderança do PS". Público. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  3. João Pedro, Henriques (15 June 2014). "Seguro acusa Costa de oportunismo". Diário de Notícias. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  4. Telma, Roque (6 June 2014). "Aprovada a realização de eleições primárias no PS a 28 de setembro". Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  5. "SÍNTESE DA DECLARAÇÃO DE PRINCÍPIOS DO PARTIDO SOCIALISTA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
Official campaign websites
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