The President of the Government of the Azores, incumbent José Manuel Bolieiro, was reelected for a second term following the snap elections held on February 4. The leader of the Social Democrat Party (PSD), he defeated former President of the Azores, Vasco Cordeiro, the leader of the Socialist Party (PS) in the region.

This was the largest defeat for the Socialist Party in the region since 1996. President Cordeiro was first elected President of the Government of the Azores on October 14, 2012, with an absolute majority of 49% of votes. He replaced fellow socialist Carlos César, who had 16 years in office. 

The winning center-right PSD won the early elections in coalition with two right-leaning minority parties, the CDS and the PP/PPM, electing 26 of the 57 deputies, remaining short of an absolute majority, while the PS obtained 23 mandates.

Other participating parties in the snap election include the Chega party, which elected five deputies, the Left Bloc party, the Liberal Initiative party, and the PAN party, which elected one deputy each. Abstention was close to 50%.

In his reelection speech, Bolieiro stated, “The people of the Azores have repeated what they said in 2020: They don’t want a socialist government.”

The early elections resulted following President Bolieiro’s failure to get the approval of the executive budget for 2024, submitted to the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region last November.

According to the Framework Law for the Budget of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, when the Legislative Assembly rejects the executive budget, the executive must present a new budget proposal within 90 days of the rejection or call for early elections. The proposed budget was rejected by Right and Left parties in opposition led by the socialists.

José Manuel Bolieiro, a career politician, was first elected president following the regional elections held in October 2020. He previously served as Mayor of Ponta Delgada city from 2012 to 2020. A graduate in Law from the University of Coimbra, he was assistant to the Regional Under-Secretary for Social Communication (1989-1995); legal advisor to the President of the Regional Government of the Azores (1996); deputy to the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (1998-2009), exercising the functions of President of the Parliamentary Group PSD and chairman of the Permanent Commission for General Policy. He was also president of the Municipal Assembly of Povoação (2002-2009) and vice-president of the Municipality of Ponta Delgada (2009-2012).

Find more detailed information about the 2024 elections here.

The Azores (population 250,000) became an Autonomous Region of Portugal in 1976. The government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores includes the Legislative Assembly, composed of 57 elected deputies, elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term; the Regional Government and Presidency, with parliamentary legitimacy, composed of a President, a Vice-President and seven Regional Secretaries responsible for the Regional Government executive operations. The Autonomous Region of the Azores is represented in the Council of Ministers of the Central Government by a representative appointed by the President of Portugal. 

PAJ/Staff