It is important to remember that Portugal did not achieve democracy on October 5, 1910. That date only marked the first step on that long road.
Its “true” democratic state only came about, as we know it today, after the revolution of April 25, 1974.
On October 5, 1910, we went from a monarchy to a republic, with monarchs no longer ruling our territory.
It was also on this date that we changed the flag, the anthem and the political regime, which began to take into account the will of the people, so it was thought.
Any electoral act is a victory for democracy. Today, elections are free and all citizens over the age of 18, without discrimination as to gender or race, can vote , but it wasn’t always like this.
In this article, we take a look back in history and travel to three 20th century elections in Lisbon to remember what it was like to vote in other times.
Legislative elections of 1908
Elections were not always peaceful and orderly events. The legislative elections of April 5, 1908, for example, were turbulent and were accompanied by violent clashes between the police and the municipal guard and republican demonstrators who demanded that the ballot boxes be inspected.
The police were summoned to the vicinity of the D. Maria theater and acted with extreme violence, specifically near the churches of S. Domingos and Alcântara and in Rossio. The disturbances caused 14 deaths, some of which were shot dead by the Municipal Guard.
It should be remembered that, at the beginning of the year, King Carlos and Prince Luís Filipe had been assassinated and the political situation in the country was very unstable, with the growing strength of the Republicans, which would culminate in the proclamation of the Republic on October 5, 1910.
Photo by Joshua Benoliel [1908] | Lisbon Municipal Archive
In this photograph, you can see signs made in blood by the population on a wall in Largo de São Domingos, after the police violence. Below, a guard at the ballot box in the Church of São Domingos.
Photo by Alberto Carlos Lima [1908] | Lisbon Municipal Archive
In Rossio, in front of the D. Maria Theatre, the 2 Lanceiros da Rainha cavalry regiment defended public order.
Photo by Joshua Benoliel [1908] | Lisbon Municipal Archive
At the time, the Lisbon Cathedral was also a polling station.
Photo by Joshua Benoliel [1908] | Lisbon Municipal Archive
The Church of the Angels also functioned as a polling station and, in the photo below, you can see the flood of people waiting for the ballot boxes to open there.
Photo by Joshua Benoliel [1908] | Lisbon Municipal Archive
Legislative Elections of 1911
On May 28, 1911, the first legislative elections were held after the proclamation of the Republic, although only in the Lisbon and Porto constituencies. This was, therefore, the first electoral act of the Portuguese Republic.
Only literate citizens and heads of household over the age of 21 voted in these elections.
It was in these elections that the first Portuguese woman exercised her right to vote: Carolina Beatriz Ângelo, a doctor, widow and head of the family, argued that there was an ambiguity in the law that did not effectively exclude women from active electoral capacity, claiming in court that she should be included in the electoral register.
In the photos below, you can see the polling stations at Liceu Camões and also at the Church of Madalena. In these elections, 250,000 people voted (approximately 57% of the electorate).
Photo by Joshua Benoliel [1911] | Lisbon Municipal Archive
Photo by [1911] | Lisbon Municipal Archive
Constituent Assembly elections of 1975
These were perhaps the most important elections in the history of Portuguese democracy, as they were the first free elections after April 25, 1974.
And the novelty wasn’t just that they were free elections. The biggest novelty was that they were an electoral act for everyone, regardless of gender, social class, qualification, profession or generation.
In these elections, almost seven million Portuguese went to the polls, from North to South.
According to PORDATA data from April 2013, these were the elections with the lowest abstention rate ever: only 8.5% of voters did not exercise their right to vote.
There were huge queues, there was unrest and the people were united in finally being able to freely elect their representatives. It was also the first election in which women finally had the universal right to vote.
The PS was the party with the most votes (38%), followed by the PPD (26.4%), PCP (12.5%), CDS (7.6%), MDP/CDE (4%) and UDP (0.7%), all of which had parliamentary representation. The elections were held on April 25, 1975.
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Photo by Marques Valentim/ atLântico ress/corbis
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Photo by @ A Capital IP
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Photo by © Visão
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