On the 50th anniversary of April 25th (1/3)
Azorean Chronology of Portuguese Democracy – The National Elections

Portuguese democracy in 1974 was one of the leading causes of Azorean autonomy in 1976. And this is one of its best consequences.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution from the perspective of Constitutional Autonomy, the book 50 Anos de Abril | Democracia & Autonomia will be published, organized by José Andrade, with launches in Angra do Heroísmo (April 24), Horta (April 29) and Ponta Delgada (April 30), the testimonies of all the successive presidents of the Regional Government (João Bosco Mota Amaral, Alberto Romão Madruga da Costa, Carlos César, Vasco Cordeiro and José Manuel Bolieiro) and of the Legislative Assembly (Álvaro Monjardino, José Reis Leite, Humberto Melo, Dionísio Sousa, Fernando Menezes, Francisco Coelho, Ana Luísa Luís and Luís Garcia) of the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
This book closes with an Azorean Chronology of Portuguese Democracy, which recalls and records figures and facts of Political Autonomy to better frame the Azorean testimonies of the post-April 25 autonomous leaders. Here, in pre-publication, is an excerpt from the 17 national legislative elections held in the Azores.
1975
April 25 – Elections for the Constituent Assembly are held, with a national victory for the PS (37.87%) led by Mário Soares. In the Azores, 159,590 registered voters, and 144,157 voted (90.33%). The PPD won 85,567 votes (59.36%) and elected five deputies (João Bosco Mota Amaral and Américo Natalino de Viveiros, for the district of Ponta Delgada, José Manuel Bettencourt and Ruben Raposo, for the district of Angra do Heroísmo, and Germano Domingos, for the district of Horta); the PS won 38,689 votes (26.84%) and elected one deputy (Jaime Gama, for the district of Ponta Delgada).
1976
April 25 – The first elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with a national victory for the PS (34.89%) led by Mário Soares. In the Azores, 162,715 voters are registered, and 127,184 (78.16%) vote. The PPD won 62,956 votes (49.50%) and elected four deputies (João Bosco Mota Amaral, Ruben Raposo, Manuel Meneses, and Américo Natalino de Viveiros); the PS won 42,726 votes (33.59%) and elected two deputies (Jaime Gama and José Borges Nunes).
1979
December 2 – The second elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the national victory of the Democratic Alliance – PSD/CDS/PPM (45.26%) led by Francisco Sá Carneiro. In the Azores, 156,760 voters registered and 130,175 voted (83.04%). The PSD won 67,526 votes (51.87%) and elected three MPs (João Bosco Mota Amaral, Germano Domingos, and António Maria Mendes); the PS won 38,745 votes (29.76%) and elected two MPs (Jaime Gama and Francisco Oliveira).

1980
October 5 – The third elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the national victory of the Democratic Alliance – PSD/CDS/PPM (47.59%) led by Francisco Sá Carneiro. In the Azores, 157,779 voters registered, and 120,192 voted (76.18%). The PSD won 68,493 votes (56.99%) and elected four MPs (João Bosco Mota Amaral, António Maria Mendes, João Vasco Paiva, and José Vargas Bulcão); the PS won 32,648 votes (27.16%) and elected one MP (Jaime Gama).
1983
April 25 – The fourth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with a national victory for the PS (36.11%) led by Mário Soares. In the Azores, 161,420 voters are registered and 107,413 vote (66.54%). The PSD won 58,500 votes (54.46%) and elected three deputies (João Bosco Mota Amaral, Raúl Gomes dos Santos, and António Maria Mendes); the PS won 33,402 votes (31.10%) and elected two deputies (Avelino Rodrigues and Ricardo Barros).
1985
October 6 – The fifth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PSD winning (29.87%) led by Aníbal Cavaco Silva. In the Azores, 172,964 voters are registered and 103,882 vote (60.06%). The PSD won 50,015 votes (48.15%) and elected three deputies (João Bosco Mota Amaral, José Melo Alves and José Vargas Bulcão); the PS won 20,798 votes (20.02%) and elected one deputy (António Simas Santos); the PRD won 15,747 votes (15.16%) and elected one deputy (Roberto Amaral).
1987
July 19 – The sixth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PSD winning (50.22%) led by Aníbal Cavaco Silva. In the Azores, 176,753 voters are registered and 95,154 (53.83%) vote. The PSD won 63,378 votes (66.61%) and elected four MPs (João Bosco Mota Amaral, José Melo Alves, José Vargas Bulcão, and Mário Belo Maciel); the PS won 19,001 votes (19.97%) and elected one MP (Carlos César).

1991
October 6 – The seventh elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PSD winning (50.60%) led by Aníbal Cavaco Silva. In the Azores, 180,989 voters are registered and 104,743 (57.87%) vote. The PSD won 67,157 votes (64.12%) and elected four MPs (João Bosco Mota Amaral, José Reis Leite, Mário Belo Maciel, and Manuel Azevedo); the PS won 27,022 votes (25.80%) and elected one MP (Martins Goulart).
1995
October 1 – The eighth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PS winning (43.76%), led by António Guterres. In the Azores, 188,871 voters are registered and 106,714 vote (56.50%). The PSD won 51,014 votes (47.80%) and elected three MPs (João Bosco Mota Amaral, José Reis Leite, and Rolando Lalanda Gonçalves); the PS won 40,022 votes (37.50%) and elected two MPs (José Medeiros Ferreira and Sérgio Ávila).
1999
October 10 – The ninth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the national victory of the PS (44.06%) led by António Guterres. In the Azores, 186,587 voters are registered and 93,773 vote (50.26%). The PS won 49,947 votes (53.26%) and elected three MPs (José Medeiros Ferreira, Luiz Fagundes Duarte, and Isabel Barata); the PSD won 33,574 votes (35.80%) and elected two MPs (João Bosco Mota Amaral and Joaquim Ponte).
2002
March 17 – The tenth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PSD winning (40.21%) led by Durão Barroso. In the Azores, 186,832 voters are registered and 89,808 (48.07%) vote. The PSD won 40,734 votes (45.36%) and elected three MPs (Victor Cruz, João Bosco Mota Amaral, and Joaquim Ponte); the PS won 36,788 votes (40.96%) and elected two MPs (José Medeiros Ferreira and Luiz Fagundes Duarte).
2005
February 20 – The eleventh elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PS winning (45.03%) led by José Sócrates. In the Azores, 189,924 registered voters and 91,533 voted (48.19%). The PS won 48,636 votes (53.13%) and elected three deputies (Ricardo Rodrigues, Luiz Fagundes Duarte, and Renato Leal); the PSD won 31,494 votes (34.41%) and elected two deputies (João Bosco Mota Amaral and Victor do Couto Cruz).

2009
September 27 – The twelfth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PS winning (36.55%) led by José Sócrates. In the Azores, 216,759 voters are registered and 95,249 (43.94%) vote. The PS won 37,830 votes (39.72%) and elected three deputies (Ricardo Rodrigues, Luiz Fagundes Duarte, and Luísa Santos); the PSD won 34,030 votes (35.73%) and elected two deputies (João Bosco Mota Amaral and Joaquim Ponte).
2011
June 5 – The thirteenth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PSD winning (38.65%) led by Pedro Passos Coelho. In the Azores, 222,247 voters are registered and 90,347 vote (40.65%). The PSD won 42,784 votes (47.36%) and elected three MPs (João Bosco Mota Amaral, Joaquim Ponte, and Lídia Bulcão); the PS won 23,195 votes (25.67%) and elected two MPs (Ricardo Rodrigues and Carlos Enes).
2015
October 4 – The fourteenth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the national victory of the Portugal à Frente – PSD/CDS coalition (38.50%) led by Pedro Passos Coelho. In the Azores, 227,546 voters are registered, and 93,404 (41.05%) cast their ballots. The PS gets 37,714 votes (40.38%) and elects three MPs (Carlos César, Lara Martinho, and João Castro); the PSD gets 33,657 votes (36.03%) and elects two MPs (Berta Cabral and António Ventura).
2019
October 6 – The fifteenth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PS winning (36.34%) led by António Costa. In the Azores, 228,954 voters are registered and 83,565 vote (36.50%). The PS won 33,472 votes (40.06%) and elected three deputies (Isabel Almeida Rodrigues, Lara Martinho, and João Castro); the PSD won 25,249 votes (30.21%) and elected two deputies (Paulo Moniz and António Ventura).

2022
January 30 – The sixteenth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the PS winning (41.37%) led by António Costa. In the Azores, 229,022 registered voters and 84,084 (36.71%) voted. The PS won 36,025 votes (42.84%) and elected three MPs (Francisco César, Sérgio Ávila, and Isabel Almeida Rodrigues); the PSD/CDS won 28,520 votes (33.92%) and elected two MPs (Paulo Moniz and Francisco Pimentel).
2024
March 10 – The seventeenth elections to the Assembly of the Republic are held, with the national victory of the AD (28.84%) led by Luís Montenegro. In the Azores, 230,082 voters are registered and 106,273 (46.19%) vote. AD obtained 42,343 votes (39.84%) and elected two deputies (Paulo Moniz and Francisco Pimentel); PS obtained 31,015 votes (29.1%) and elected two deputies (Francisco César and Sérgio Ávila); Chega obtained 16,744 votes (15.7%) and elected one deputy (Miguel Arruda).

JOSÉ ANDRADE, author

José Andrade is the current Director of Azorean Communities for the Government of the Azores. This photo was taken at the Fresno State Library in front of the Azorean Book Stand.

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