The 2021 Lisbon local election was the biggest surprise of that
year's nationwide local elections as
Carlos Moedas, the candidate of the
centre-right coalition led by the
Social Democratic Party, managed to be elected
Mayor of Lisbon and put an end to 14 years of
Socialist rule. Against all expectations, the centre-right coalition managed to retake the capital by winning 34.3 percent of the votes and 7 councillors. The
Socialist Party, in coalition with
LIVRE, led by incumbent Mayor
Fernando Medina, narrowly lost, achieving 33.3% of the votes and 7 councillors. Meanwhile, the
Unitary Democratic Coalition, led for the third time by
João Ferreira, had a slight increase in its vote share to 10.5% of the votes and maintained its 2 councillors, while the
Left Bloc, led by
Beatriz Gomes Dias, won 6.2% of the votes and kept their sole seat. Despite results above 4% of the votes, newcomers far-right
Chega and the
Liberal Initiative failed to win a single seat in the municipal council, while the
People Animals Nature party polled at just 2.7% of the votes and also didn't elect any seats. Despite his victory, Carlos Moedas didn't achieve an absolute majority in either the city council or the municipal assembly, having to seek understandings and deals with the other parties represented in the City Council in order to govern.
Candidates selection As incumbent Mayor
Carlos Moedas was widely expected to run for reelection, the Socialist Party needed a candidate who could face him. After leaving office as Minister of Health,
Marta Temido became president of the PS section of
Lisbon in February 2023. She was widely expected to be a candidate for Mayor, until she was selected by party leader
Pedro Nuno Santos as the main candidate for the
2024 European Parliament election. The party then sought other alternatives, such as former Minister of the Environment and former Deputy Mayor
Duarte Cordeiro, former Minister of the Economy
Pedro Siza Vieira and even considering
Pedro Nuno Santos as the party's mayoral candidate. The choice eventually fell between
Mariana Vieira da Silva and the party's parliamentary leader
Alexandra Leitão. Finally, on 13 January 2025, Alexandra Leitão was announced as the party's candidate for Mayor of Lisbon. The parties also sought to include the
Portuguese Communist Party, who had already announced
João Ferreira as their candidate, Eventually, Alexandra Leitão decided to include the
People Animals Nature in a coalition with LIVRE and BE, formalizing the coalition in July 2025. The CDS fought to prevent the IL from taking influence within the coalition from them, even threatening to run its own candidate. After negotiations, an agreement was closed in July 2025, with a coalition between the PSD, the CDS–PP and IL. == Electoral system ==