A presidential election was held in Portugal on 7 December 1980, as according to the decree that approved the Constitution, which stipulated that the first term of the President would end three months after the end of the first legislature, on 14 October 1980.
Incumbent president General Ramalho Eanes gathered the support of the Socialist Party, despite the objection of their leader, Mário Soares, and also the support of the Portuguese Communist Party, whose candidate, Carlos Brito, withdrew the week before election day, giving his support to Eanes. The Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers also supported Eanes, whose picture became a feature on numerous walls around the country, painted by Communist Party activists.
One of the major players in the democratic revolution of 1974, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, was also a candidate, for the second time, but finished far behind his previous result of 1976. The newly founded Workers Party of Socialist Unity presented its own candidate, Aires Rodrigues.
His main opponent, General Soares Carneiro, was known for his right-wing views and was branded by opponents as a hardliner, with links to the dictatorial regime that had been overthrown only six years earlier. He was supported by the Democratic Alliance, a centre-right coalition of the Social Democratic Party, the Democratic Social Center, and the smaller People's Monarchist Party.
Two days before the election, two of Soares Carneiro's leading supporters, Prime Minister Francisco Sá Carneiro (no relation) and Defence Minister Adelino Amaro da Costa, died in a plane crash while they were heading for a rally in Porto. Despite the accident, the election went ahead as planned, but predictions that a second round would be needed were shown to be wrong, with Ramalho Eanes winning with almost 57 percent, against 40 percent for Soares Carneiro. Eanes was sworn in for a second term as President on 14 January 1981.
Electoral system
Any Portuguese citizen over 35 years old has the opportunity to run for president. In order to do so it was necessary to gather between 7500 and 15000 signatures and submit them to the Supreme Court of Justice.
According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a majority of votes. If no candidate gets this majority there will take place a second round between the two most voted candidates.
Candidates
Official candidates
- António Ramalho Eanes, Incumbent President since 1976 and eligible for a second term, Independent candidate supported by the Socialist Party, Portuguese Communist Party and the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party;
- António Soares Carneiro , Military officer, supported by the Democratic Alliance;
- Carlos Galvão de Melo, General officer, Member of the National Salvation Junta, Independent candidate;
- Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Military officer, polled second place in 1976, supported by the Popular Unity Force;
- António Pires Veloso, Major general of the Portuguese Army, Independent candidate;
- António Aires Rodrigues, supported by the Workers Party of Socialist Unity
- Carlos Brito, Official candidate of the Portuguese Communist Party, Left the race to support Ramalho Eanes;
Campaign period
Party slogans
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:left;"
|-
! style="text-align:left;" colspan="2"| Candidate
! Original slogan
! English translation
! Refs
|-
| bgcolor=#ff0081|
| António Ramalho Eanes
| « O Presidente de todos os Portugueses »
| "The President of all Portuguese"
|
|-
|bgcolor=|
| António Soares Carneiro
| « Maioria, Governo, Presidente » <br/> « Segurança no futuro »
| "Majority, Government, President" <br/> "Safety in the future"
|
|-
|bgcolor=|
| Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho
| « Na Presidência um amigo »
| "A friend in the presidency"
|
|-
| bgcolor=|
| Carlos Galvão de Melo
| « Candidato de Portugal »
| "Portugal's candidate"
|