In response to journalists at the Brotéria bookstore in Lisbon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reiterated that he is "quite inclined" to schedule the presidential elections for January 18th, as he had already stated in June, instead of January 25th, a date he had indicated as likely earlier this year, justifying this with "two reasons."

The head of state said he wants to avoid the deadline for submitting candidacies, which is 30 days before the elections, coinciding with Christmas and a potential runoff on Carnival Sunday, the latter being the "most important reason."

"Since it's not January 25th, the earliest possible date is January 18th. That's my general opinion, but it's not yet formalised, which will happen in due time," he declared.

Refusing to comment on presidential candidacies, including that of Chega's president, André Ventura, the head of state framed the number of candidates in these elections as normal and expressed confidence in the Portuguese people's choices.

"I think people underestimate the capacity of the Portuguese people. As I recall, from my time as a political analyst, I often said that the Portuguese are very shrewd, very sensible in their electoral choices," he stated.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa added that "sometimes it may seem like the solution doesn't make sense at a given moment," but it's clear "over time," and regardless of the number of candidates, that they "chose what they understood to be the most appropriate for the country at that particular moment."

If the presidential elections are scheduled for January 18th, a potential runoff election, which by law takes place three weeks later, would fall on February 8th. If the elections were held on January 25th, the runoff election would fall on February 15th, which in 2026 will be Carnival Sunday.

"It doesn't seem sensible to schedule a runoff election for in-person elections on Carnival weekend, on Carnival Sunday, for all the reasons, in terms of abstention, voter turnout, and especially because it's not exactly a time to make such an important decision—if it has to be made," the President of the Republic stated.

All ten previous presidential elections in the democracy were held in January, except for the first two after April 25, 1974, for which the 1976 Constitution established special deadlines, tied to the beginning and end of the first legislative term.

The Presidential Electoral Law establishes that the head of state "shall set the date of the first round of voting for the Presidency of the Republic at least 60 days in advance."

A possible second election, if neither candidate receives "more than half of the validly cast votes, not counting blank votes," will take place "on the twenty-first day after the first" between the two candidates with the most votes.

The law requires that both the first and any possible second elections take place "within 60 days prior to the end of the term of the outgoing President of the Republic," a period that begins on January 8, 2026, with the term ending on March 9.

Candidacies may be submitted up to "thirty days before the scheduled election date" by "citizens of Portuguese origin, over 35 years of age," proposed by "a minimum of 7,500 and a maximum of 15,000 citizen voters."