Voting in Portugal

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Voting in Portugal

All EU citizens living as residents in Portugal are legally entitled to vote in certain Portuguese elections, specifically: 

• Local Municipal Elections
• European Parliamentary Elections

An EU citizen may also stand as a candidate in Municipal and European Parliamentary elections under the same conditions a Portuguese national. 

To be eligible to vote, a person must be at least 18 years old. They must not have been banned from voting in another EU state.

Note: Registration to vote in either of these elections does not automatically qualify a voter for the other. Registration must be made separately for each. 

Register to vote

Elections are managed by the Portuguese Ministry of Interior’s (Ministerio de Administração Interna) electoral department (Secretariado Técnico dos Assuntos Para o Processo Eleitoral, STAPE) 

A residency document and proof of address are required to register on the electoral roll. Inscriptions must take place at least 60 days before an election. Electors will be enrolled on the electoral list of their commune, at the address which is indicated on the residence permit.

Voting takes place at the local Junta de Freguesia, which is a sub division of the Town Hall.

• More information is available from STAPE (in Portuguese)
• Information from the EU website Europa: Click here

Voting in European Parliamentary Elections

EU nationals, over the age of 18 may vote in European Parliamentary Elections, and any national over 25 is eligible to stand as candidate for Member of the European Parliament (MEP). An EU citizen voting in Portugal for elections for the European Parliament forfeits the right to vote in another EU country.

• For further information concerning elections for the European Parliament and registering as a candidate: Click here (PDF)
• For information from the EU: Click here
• Information on standing as a candidate: Click here