An election of MEP representing Portugal constituency for the 1999âÂÂ2004 term of the European Parliament was held on 13 June. It was part of the wider 1999 European election.
In the runner up for the 1999 general elections, the Socialist Party (PS) won the EU elections by a landslide. The party, headed by its founder and former President of the Republic and Prime Minister Mário Soares, scored a convincing victory over the Social Democrats. The PS increased its share of vote more than 8 percent and won 2 more seats compared with 1994. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) had a bad performance, but was able to hold on to its 9 seats, but, at the same time, the party saw their share of vote drop to 31 percent, around 3 points lower than in 1994.
The Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU) performed quite well, although it dropped compared with 1994. The Communist/Green alliance won more than 10 percent of the votes, a drop of around 1 point, and lost one seat but was able to reclaim the title of 3rd largest party. The People's Party (CDSâÂÂPP), was the party that suffered the most. The People's Party dropped to fourth place and had the biggest fall in terms of share of the vote, winning just 8 percent of the vote, a fall of more than 4 points. They also lost one seat compared to 1994.
Turnout increased compared with 1994, with 39.9 percent of voters casting a ballot.
The voting method used, for the election of European members of parliament, is by proportional representation using the d'Hondt method, which is known to benefit leading parties. In the 1999 EU elections, Portugal had 25 seats to be filled. Deputies are elected in a single constituency, corresponding to the entire national territory.
The major parties that partook in the election, and their EP list leaders, were:
The following table shows the opinion polls of voting intention of the Portuguese voters before the election. Those parties that are listed were represented in the EU parliament (1994âÂÂ1999). Included is also the result of the Portuguese EP elections in 1994 and 1999 for reference.
Note, until 2000, the publication of opinion polls in the last week of the campaign was forbidden.