The municipal elections in Porto fueled doubt until the end and it was only at the end of the day that it was known who the winner was. Manuel Pizarro ended up admitting defeat, in this face-to-face with Pedro Duarte, at the socialists’ campaign headquarters, with few votes left to count. He was the first of the candidates to speak and, at that moment, he stated that “the citizens of Porto chose a team to govern and another to act in opposition”.
In his speech, he guaranteed that he will assume his role as councilor in the city, saying that “this defeat is entirely mine”. He also rejected the idea of sharing responsibility for the defeat with Pedro Nuno Santos or José Luís Carneiro, stating that “the PS cannot be held responsible for this result”.
When asked about the absence of a left-wing coalition in Porto, he commented that “we don’t know if the votes we could have won in a left-wing coalition wouldn’t have been lost otherwise”.
The speech confirmed the victory of social democrat Pedro Duarte, which was only made official later, with 37.29% of the votes against 35.54% for Manuel Pizarro. The new mayor is a native of Porto and has a robust academic background, including a PhD in Development Studies and a degree in Law. He has an extensive CV that covers positions in the Portuguese Parliament and in the Government, where he was Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
In his candidacy, Pedro Duarte presented a set of ten commitments that aim to address crucial issues such as health, housing and security. Among the promises, the intention to improve urban mobility, reinforce public safety and guarantee more affordable housing, especially for young people and families, stands out. He committed to using vacant State and City Council properties to increase the housing supply, and, in addition, proposed that all Porto residents have free access to public transport.
In the health area, Duarte plans to establish a new municipal service focused on community health care, in collaboration with social and health institutions.
Regarding security, his plan includes increasing police presence on the streets with the addition of 100 municipal police and 100 PSP agents, in addition to rigorous work to combat illegal immigration.
Another novelty in Porto, after the outcome of the vote count, is the election of Chega’s candidate as councilor, after having obtained 8.23% of the votes. Aged 39, he has a degree in Management and works as a business manager and entrepreneur.
He is Miguel Corte-Real and began his political career in the Social-Democratic Youth (JSD) before migrating to the PSD, where he assumed several roles, including vice-presidency of the PSD-Porto council and leadership of the Núcleo Occidental do Porto (NOP).
He was also part of the party’s National Council and led the Social Democrats’ bench in the Porto Municipal Assembly until 2024, the year in which he resigned from his position.