2008 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election

The 2008 Portuguese Social Democratic Party leadership election was held on 31 May 2008. This was a snap leadership election following the surprise resignation of then party leader Luís Filipe Menezes, elected just seven months before in September 2007, from the party's leadership.[1] Menezes was facing heavy internal criticism for his leadership and opposition strategy but, nonetheless, his resignation surprised party members and structures.[2] Four candidates entered in this snap race: Manuela Ferreira Leite, Pedro Passos Coelho, Pedro Santana Lopes and Mário Patinha Antão. On election day, Ferreira Leite won the leadership by capturing almost 38% of the votes, while Passos Coelho got 31% of the votes and Santana Lopes polled just below 30%.[3] Manuela Ferreira Leite became the first woman to lead a major political party in Portuguese history.[4]

2008 Social Democratic Party leadership election
31 May 2008
 
Candidate Manuela Ferreira Leite Pedro Passos Coelho Pedro Santana Lopes
Popular vote 17,278 14,160 13,495
Percentage 37.9% 31.1% 29.6%
Leader before election

Luís Filipe Menezes

 Elected Leader

Manuela Ferreira Leite

Ferreira Leite would lead the PSD to victory in the 2009 European Parliament election in Portugal,[5] but was defeated in the 2009 general elections held in the fall of the same year.[6]

Candidates
Name Born Experience Announcement date Ref.

Manuela Ferreira Leite		 3 December 1940
(age 67)
Lisbon		 Minister of Finance (2002–2004)
Minister of Education (1993–1995)
Member of Parliament for Lisbon (1999–2005); (2009–2011)
Member of Parliament for Lisbon (1995–1999)		 28 April 2008 [7]

Pedro Passos Coelho		 24 August 1964
(age 43)
Coimbra
Social Democratic Youth leader (1990–1995)
Member of Parliament for Lisbon (1991–1999)		 18 April 2008 [8]

Pedro Santana Lopes		 29 June 1956
(age 52)
Lisbon		 Prime Minister (2004-2005)
President of the Social Democratic Party (2004–2005)
Mayor of Lisbon (2002-2004); (2005)
Mayor of Figueira da Foz (1997-2001)
Secretary of State of Culture (1990-1994)
Member of Parliament for Lisbon (1980–1991); (1999–2002); (2005–2009)
Member of the European Parliament (1987–1989)		 24 April 2008 [9]
Patinha Antão 26 June 1945
(age 62)
Loulé		 Member of Parliament for Braga (1999–2002)
Member of Parliament for Faro (2002–2009)		 21 April 2008 [10]

Opinion polls

All voters
Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Others
/Undecided		 Lead
Ferreira Leite Passos Coelho Santana Lopes Patinha Antão
Marktest 17–20 May 2008 800 27.3 12.2 9.6 N/A 50.9 15.1

PSD voters
Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Others
/Undecided		 Lead
Ferreira Leite Passos Coelho Santana Lopes Patinha Antão
Marktest 17–20 May 2008 800 43.2 9.1 17.4 N/A 30.3 25.8

Results
Summary of the May 2008 PSD leadership election results
Candidate 31 May 2008
Votes  %
Manuela Ferreira Leite 17,27837.90
Pedro Passos Coelho 14,16031.06
Pedro Santana Lopes 13,49529.60
Patinha Antão 3080.68
Total 45,241
Valid votes 45,24199.23
Invalid and blank ballots 3510.77
Votes cast / turnout 45,59259.14
Registered voters 77,090
Sources: Official results
Vote share
Manuela Ferreira Leite
 
 37.90%
Pedro Passos Coelho
 
 31.06%
Pedro Santana Lopes
 
 29.60%
Patinha Antão
 
 0.68%
Blank/Invalid
 
 0.77%

See also

References
  1. "Menezes abandona liderança e convoca eleições", TVI24, 17 April 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  2. "Crise no PSD: distritais surpreendidas com Menezes", TVI24, 18 April 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  3. "Manuela Ferreira Leite é a nova líder do PSD", Jornal de Negócios, 31 May 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  4. "Manuela Ferreira Leite, a primeira mulher a dirigir o partido de Sá Carneiro - Perfil", RTP, 31 May 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  5. "Resultados oficiais: PSD ganha europeias", TVI24, 7 June 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  6. "PS vence com 36,56 por cento, mais 7,47 por cento que o PSD", TSF, 28 September 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  7. TVI24 (28 April 2008). "Manuela Ferreira Leite dá início à campanha". Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  8. Público (18 April 2008). "Passos Coelho é candidato às eleições no PSD". Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  9. TVI24 (24 April 2008). "Santana é candidato à liderança do PSD". Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  10. Público (21 April 2008). "PSD: Patinha Antão apresenta candidatura irreversível e para vencer". Retrieved 6 March 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.