16th Legislature of the Third Portuguese Republic

The 16th Legislature of the Third Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: XVI Legislatura da Terceira República Portuguesa) is the current meeting of the Assembly of the Republic. Its membership was determined by the results of the 2024 Portuguese legislative election held on 10 March.

16th Legislature of the Third Portuguese Republic
← 15th Legislature
Overview
Legislative body	Assembly of the Republic
Jurisdiction	Portugal
Meeting place	Palace of Saint Benedict
Term	26 March 2024 – present
Election	10 March 2024
Government	XXIV Constitutional Government
Website	parlamento.pt
Deputies
Members	230
President	José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, PPD/PSD
First Vice-President	Teresa Morais, PPD/PSD
Second Vice-President	Marcos Perestrello, PS
Third Vice-President	Diogo Pacheco de Amorim, CH
Fourth Vice-President	Rodrigo Saraiva, IL
First Secretary	Jorge Paulo Oliveira, PPD/PSD
Second Secretary	Joana Ferreira Lima, PS
Third Secretary	Gabriel Mithá Ribeiro, CH
Fourth Secretary	Germana Rocha, PPD/PSD

Election

The 17th Portuguese legislative election was held on 10 March 2024. The Democratic Alliance (AD) won, narrowly, the most votes and seats.^[1][2]

Party		Assembly of the Republic
		Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	AD[a]	1,867,442	28.84	80	+3
	PS	1,812,443	27.98	78	–42
	Chega	1,169,781	18.06	50	+38
	IL	319,877	4.94	8	±0
	BE	282,314	4.36	5	±0
	CDU	205,551	3.17	4	–2
	Livre	204,875	3.16	4	+3
	PAN	126,125	1.95	1	±0
	Other/blank/invalid	488,544	7.54	0	±0
Total		6,476,952	100.00	230	±0

Composition (2024–present)

List of members

Main article: List of members of the 16th Assembly of the Republic (Portugal)

Current composition

Party		Parliamentary group leader	Elected		Current
			Seats	%	Seats	%
	PPD/PSD	Hugo Soares (Braga)	78	33.9	78	33.9
	PS	Alexandra Leitão (Santarém)	78	33.9	78	33.9
	Chega	Pedro Pinto (Faro)	50	21.7	49	21.3
	IL	Mariana Leitão (Lisbon)	8	3.5	8	3.5
	BE	Fabian Figueiredo (Lisbon)	5	2.2	5	2.2
	PCP	Paula Santos (Setúbal)	4	1.7	4	1.7
	Livre	Isabel Mendes Lopes (Lisbon)	4	1.7	4	1.7
	CDS–PP	Paulo Núncio (Lisbon)	2	0.9	2	0.9
	PAN	Inês Sousa Real (Lisbon)	1	0.4	1	0.4
	Independent	Miguel Arruda (Azores)[3]	0	0.0	1	0.4
Total			230	100.0	230	100.0

Changes

• Miguel Arruda, Chega (CH) → Independent: Left the party following an accusation, and a police investigation, that he allegedly stole several suitcases at Lisbon and Ponta Delgada airports.^[4]

Election for President of the Assembly of the Republic

The election to pick a new President of the Assembly of the Republic was complicated. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) proposed José Pedro Aguiar-Branco as their candidate for President. To be elected, a candidate needs to reach a minimum of 116 votes. The first ballot occurred on 26 March 2024 and before the vote, there was the announcement that the Social Democratic Party reached an understanding with Chega regarding names.^[5] Chega leader André Ventura announced the "deal" to the media, but several Democratic Alliance members downplayed the announcement and said no deal was made, just an understanding.^[6] Despite this, the overwhelming point of view was that Aguiar-Branco would easily be elected, but on the first ballot, Chega members voted in blank and Aguiar-Branco failed to be elected:^[7]

Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
1st Ballot →		26 March 2024
Required majority →		116 out of 230
	José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (PPD/PSD)	89 / 230	N
	Blank ballots	134 / 230
	Invalid ballots	7 / 230
	Absentees	0 / 230
Sources: [7]

Following the first ballot, the PSD accused the Socialist Party (PS) and Chega of a "negative coalition" and announced the withdraw of Aguiar-Branco.^[8] The PS then announced they would present Francisco Assis as candidate, while Chega would present Manuela Tender. Shortly after, Aguiar-Branco retracted his earlier withdraw and was back on the ballot.^[9] On the two following ballots, the gridlock remained:

Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
2nd Ballot →		26 March 2024
Required majority →		116 out of 230
	Francisco Assis (PS)	90 / 230	N
	José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (PPD/PSD)	88 / 230	N
	Manuela Tender (Chega)	49 / 230	N
	Blank ballots	2 / 230
	Invalid ballots	0 / 230
	Absentees	1 / 230
Sources: [10]

Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
3rd Ballot →		26 March 2024
Required majority →		116 out of 230
	Francisco Assis (PS)	90 / 230	N
	José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (PPD/PSD)	88 / 230	N
	Blank ballots	52 / 230
	Invalid ballots	0 / 230
	Absentees	0 / 230
Sources: [11]

A fourth ballot was then scheduled for the following day, 27 March, to be held at noon, but late negotiations between PS and PSD delayed the vote for several hours.^[12] Following these negotiations, it was announced that both parties reached a deal in which the Presidency of the Assembly would rotate between the two parties, with the PSD holding the first two years, until 2026, and the PS the rest of the legislature until 2028.^[13] The PSD presented again Aguiar-Branco, while Chega presented Rui Paulo Sousa. Aguiar-Branco was easily elected:

Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
4th Ballot →		27 March 2024
Required majority →		116 out of 230
	José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (PPD/PSD)	160 / 230	Y
	Rui Paulo Sousa (Chega)	50 / 230	N
	Blank ballots	18 / 230
	Invalid ballots	0 / 230
	Absentees	2 / 230
Sources: [14]

Notes

1. Sum of the votes of the Democratic Alliance (AD) in mainland Portugal and the Azores with the Social Democratic Party/CDS – People's Party (PPD/PSD.CDS–PP) coalition in Madeira and the PPM sole list also in Madeira. The 3 MPs elected in the Madeira coalition are all from PPD/PSD.

References

1. "AD ganha, mas com berbicacho, PS e esquerda ficam na "oposição"". Expresso (in Portuguese). 11 March 2024. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
2. "Comissão Nacional de Eleições Mapa Oficial n.º 2-A/2024" (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
3. ""Para reafirmar a minha inocência não posso estar conotado com qualquer partido", justifica Miguel Arruda". www.sicnoticias.pt (in European Portuguese). 23 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
4. "Portuguese politician accused of stealing suitcases at airports". www.theguardian.pt. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
5. "Ventura anuncia que PSD viabilizará nomes do Chega para Mesa da AR e indica idêntico apoio a Aguiar-Branco". CNN Portugal (in Portuguese). 25 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
6. "Ventura vs. Melo: O que foi dito sobre o "acordo" que instalou impasse no Parlamento?". Sábado (in Portuguese). 27 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
7. "Aguiar-Branco falha eleição para presidente da Assembleia da República. PSD retira candidatura". ECO (in Portuguese). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
8. ""Primeira coligação negativa." AD retira candidatura de Aguiar-Branco e desafia PS e Chega a entenderem-se". TSF (in Portuguese). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
9. "Aguiar-Branco volta a candidatar-se a presidente da AR. PS responde com Francisco Assis". ECO (in Portuguese). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
10. "Segunda votação na AR sem maioria. Assis e Aguiar-Branco vão a votos em nova ronda". Renascença (in Portuguese). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
11. "Terceira ronda sem maioria entre Aguiar-Branco e Assis. Parlamento tem nova votação ao meio-dia". Renascença (in Portuguese). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
12. "Luís Montenegro e Pedro Nuno Santos reunidos no Parlamento". RTP (in Portuguese). 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
13. "PSD e PS vão dividir presidência da Assembleia da República". Visão (in Portuguese). 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
14. "À quarta foi de vez. Aguiar-Branco foi eleito presidente da Assembleia da República". ECO (in Portuguese). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.