This Sunday, 308 municipalities will be waiting f to know who will run their municipality and parish for the next four years.

Voting in different political bodies

In these elections, people vote for three different political bodies. People vote to elect the mayor and, consequently, the councilmen and councilwomen who are on the list. The party or coalition with more votes elects more councilmen and councilwomen.

People also vote for the Municipal Assembly, for its president and other members of the Assembly. The citizens will also elect the president of the parish where they reside, as well as a member of the Parish Assembly.

It is important to recall that citizens vote for the political bodies in their residency area, which is why it is important to make sure the right decision is made, as these people will make future decisions in their municipalities and towns.

The challenges of the 2025 local elections

In local elections, the choice for voting is different when compared to national elections. In local elections, people usually select the winner based on the person, and not exactly on the party. Meaning that, if a candidate is more charismatic and known by the community, they may have a bigger chance of winning.

However, this year, some mayors have reached the limit of their terms, meaning that some parties had to change their candidates for mayor in certain cities, which may bring some changes. For example, Porto has been ruled by an independent movement, not linked to any political party; however, this year, Rui Moreira cannot be the candidate anymore. The same is happening in Faro and Silves, in the Algarve. Where the mayors from PSD and CDU, respectively, are not able to run in the 2025 elections.

Foreigners are allowed to vote.

Foreigners who registered, in their local parish, to vote may be part of the choice of mayor and president of their residency parish.

As in every election, the participation of all citizens is important, and the people who will make the decisions will be selected.

Voting is an opportunity to either make changes or keep the system as it is, if citizens believe that good work is being carried out.

The polls are open from 8 am until 7 pm. To know where to vote, people can head to their Junta de Freguesia and ask where they must go to vote. Alternatively, it is possible to send an SMS to 3838 with the following text: RE Identification number birth date (RE 12345678 19770301).