Turning votes into seats: An analysis of the Portuguese electoral system

The CIES e-Working Paper “A transformação dos votos em mandatos: O sistema eleitoral português em análise” [Turning votes into seats: An analysis of the Portuguese electoral system], by researcher João Santos, is now available in open access.

Against the backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the April Revolution, which has prompted a number of assessments of the defining features of Portuguese democracy, the paper describes the Portuguese electoral system and evaluates its performance over almost half a century, using three key criteria: proportionality, governability and quality of representation.

The author concludes that governability is the best-performing indicator, with problems in forming and sustaining governments largely overcome since 1987. Electoral disproportionality, by contrast, has been increasing, as a result of an institutional design that penalises small parties. Above all, however, the system falls short in the quality of representation, making it harder for MPs to be held accountable by voters and discouraging constituency work.

The analysis is grounded in a historical perspective that helps explain the reasons behind the choice of the current electoral system.

Originally published by CIES-Iscte.