1998 Portuguese regionalisation referendum

1998 Portuguese regionalization referendum Do you agree with implementing administrative regions? Portugal 8 November 1998 1453749 2530802 4157527 8640026 A referendum on creating administrative regions was held in Portugal on 8 November 1998.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1542 978-3-8329-5609-7 Two questions were put to voters, the first on implementing the regions, and the second specifically asked whether voters approved of the new region for their area. Both proposals were rejected by wide margins by voters.Nohlen & Stöver, p1551 Background The creation of administrative regions in mainland Portugal was an electoral promise of the Socialist Party (PS) in the 1995 legislative election campaign.A regionalização que o PS prometeu e deixou cair https://www.publico.pt/2019/08/22/opiniao/opiniao/regionalizacao-ps-prometeu-deixou-cair-1883871 19 January 2025 Público pt 22 August 2019 By 1996, the newly elected leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, defended that regionalisation should be decided by a referendum, while Prime Minister António Guterres wasn't that supportive of the referendum idea.Posição de Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa e de António Guterres sobre a Regionalização https://arquivos.rtp.pt/conteudos/posicao-de-marcelo-rebelo-de-sousa-e-de-antonio-guterres-sobre-a-regionalizacao/ 19 January 2025 RTP pt 26 April 1996 A poll, in April 1996, showed that 53 percent of voters wanted a referendum, with support for regionalisation being 49 percent in favour and 29 percent against.Sondagem sobre regionalização https://arquivos.rtp.pt/conteudos/sondagem-sobre-regionalizacao/ 19 January 2025 RTP pt 26 April 1996 In May 1996, a new administrative regions law, drafted by the PS and the Communist Party (PCP), was approved by Parliament, despite the boycott from PSD and People's Party (PP) members.Processo de criação e instituição das regiões administrativas. https://www.parlamento.pt/ActividadeParlamentar/Paginas/DetalheIniciativa.aspx?BID=5568 19 January 2025 Assembly of the Republic pt A year later, in March 1997, PS and PSD signed a Constitutional review in which a referendum would always have to be mandatory for the creation of administrative regions.Regionalização: os avanços e os recuos https://portocanal.sapo.pt/noticia/303975 19 January 2025 Porto Canal pt 4 July 2022 In the following year, 1998, Parliament voted on a proposed map to be put on referendum, with only PS and PCP presenting maps, while PSD and PP refused to enter in the debate. A consensus was reached between PS and PCP on the map, which proposed 8 administrative regions in mainland Portugal. A referendum was then called in September 1998 to be held on 8 November of the same year.Primeiro e único referendo à Regionalização aconteceu há 25 anos. Recorde o processo https://portocanal.sapo.pt/noticia/340499 19 January 2025 Porto Canal pt 8 November 2023 Party positions 235px|thumb|right|Proposal of eight administrative regions put forward in the referendum The major parties in Portugal at the time listed with their political positioning and their official answer to the referendum question: Left Portuguese Communist Party - YES Ecologist Party "The Greens" - YES Socialist Party - YES Right Social Democratic Party - NO People's Party - NO Campaign Issues The Socialist Party campaigned strongly in favour of the YES vote, defending that regions would help to resolve territorial poverty in Portugal.Campanha do PS para o Referendo à Regionalização https://arquivos.rtp.pt/conteudos/campanha-do-ps-para-o-referendo-a-regionalizacao/ 19 January 2025 18 October 1998 RTP pt On the other side, the Social Democrats rejected the proposed map by calling for a NO vote, warning that regionalisation would raise taxes and would just create political jobs.PSD Contra a Regionalização https://arquivos.rtp.pt/conteudos/psd-contra-a-regionalizacao/ 19 January 2025 18 October 1998 RTP pt Choices slogans Choice Original slogan English translation Refs Yes « Sim, por Portugal. »« A união faz a força. » "Yes, for Portugal""Unity is strength." 1998 - Referendo da regionalização https://ephemerajpp.com/category/crono/1998-referendo-da-regionalizacao/ 3 November 2024 Ephemera pt No « Vota Não à regionalização. »« Não e Não. » "Vote No to regionalization""No and No." Reações ao referendo à regionalização https://arquivos.rtp.pt/conteudos/reacoes-ao-referendo-a-regionalizacao/ 9 November 1998 3 November 2024 RTP pt Results QuestionForAgainstInvalid/blankTotalvotesRegisteredvotersTurnoutOutcomeVotes%Votes%Do you agree with implementing administrative region?1,453,74936.482,530,80263.52172,9764,157,5278,640,02648.12RejectedDo you agree with concretely implementing the administrative region for the area where you live?Question only given to registered citizens in Continental Portugal1,386,71836.072,457,60463.93121,5313,965,8538,243,03048.11RejectedSource: Nohlen & Stöver, STAPE Question 1 Yes 1,453,749 #45739f #fff No 2,530,802 #8c8c53 #fff Question 2 Yes 1,386,718 #45739f #fff No 2,457,604 #8c8c53 #fff Results by region (Results for the second question by Region as proposed in the referendum.) Proposed region No Yes Turnout Votes % Votes %   Entre Douro e Minho 660,792 59.59% 448,164 40.41% 49.74%   Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro 129,705 69.85% 58,416 31.05% 45.00%   Beira Litoral 433,463 77.16% 128,338 22.84% 49.56%   Beira Interior 134,725 76.58% 41,206 23.42% 53.00%   Extremadura e Ribatejo 272,553 76.24% 84,928 23.76% 50.66%   Lisbon and Setúbal Region 644,017 58.98% 447,898 41.02% 48.16%   Alentejo 107,655 49.31% 110,657 50.69% 49.39%   Algarve 66,430 50.95% 63,942 49.05% 44.52% Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições Aftermath Following the referendum results, the Socialist Party (PS) conceded defeat, and Prime Minister António Guterres assumed full responsibility, abandoning the proposal to create administrative regions. Since then, the proposal for a referendum on the introduction of regions has been suggested by several Socialist governments,José Sócrates quer levar novamente regionalização a referendo https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/pais/jose-socrates-quer-levar-novamente-regionalizacao-a-referendo_a200974 5 February 2009 24 June 2026 RTP pt most recently by António Costa's government in 2023, but without success, given that the opposition of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) to a referendum and the idea of regions remains.Governo deixa cair referendo à regionalização por falta de apoio do PSD https://www.publico.pt/2023/03/03/politica/noticia/governo-deixa-cair-referendo-regionalizacao-falta-apoio-psd-2040949 4 July 2022 24 June 2026 Público ptReferendo à regionalização: PSD contra, PS mantém proposta e Marcelo vê dificuldades https://www.publico.pt/2022/07/04/politica/noticia/referendo-regionalizacao-psd-ps-mantem-proposta-marcelo-ve-dificuldades-2012391 4 July 2022 24 June 2026 Público pt Notes References External links Comissão Nacional de Eleições Category:Referendums in Portugal Portuguese regionalisation referendum Regionalisation referendum Portuguese regionalisation referendum