The deadline for submitting presidential candidacies for the elections on January 18, 2026 closed this Thursday afternoon. Joana Amaral Dias, from ADN, was the last to go to the Constitutional Court to endorse the 7,500 signatures required for suffrage. Thus, there will be 12 presidential candidates, which makes this the most competitive race in history in Portugal. It exceeds the figure from 2016, when ten competitors coveted the place left vacant by Cavaco Silva, at the end of his term. At that time, four political parties and six independents were represented.
In 2026, this is one of the major changes as the political parties wanted to represent themselves in strength, associating themselves with a respective candidate, with a history in the party: the Bloco de Esquerda supports Catarina Martins, former coordinator, the PCP António Filipe, former deputy, Livre the current deputy Jorge Pinto. The PS validated António José Seguro and the PSD Marques Mendes, both former leaders of their respective parties. João Cotrim de Figueiredo has the Liberal Initiative, which he led, at his side, and André Ventura is the only one running as party leader, in this case in Chega. Joana Amaral Dias is affiliated with ADN. The CDS-PP associated itself with Marques Mendes and, in Parliament, only JPP and PAN did not declare support.
There are four independent candidates running towards Belém, although, in July, there were still more than a dozen names with advanced pre-candidacy. Henrique Gouveia e Melo, military and former Navy admiral, is the strongest of the names and one of the candidates for the second round. André Pestana, who was linked to left-wing movements, Humberto Correia and Manuel João Vieira are others running outside the party sphere.
Manuela Magno, to DN, assumes that she will be left out of the vote. “I needed another 1,700 signatures, so I can’t formalize it. 20 years ago I submitted 7,700 applications and was rejected because some were not attached, stapled. I didn’t get to the ballot paper. But now it has been even more difficult to collect signatures for two reasons: people tell me on the street that they are fed up with elections and don’t even want to hear about politicians. And then, the digital mobile key, which could make the process easier, only makes it harder. Sometimes due to lack of code, sometimes due to lack of reader”, laments the scientist with a degree in Nuclear Physics.
She has been a member of Volt since 2024, but says she is independent: “Volt identified with me, with social work, and we shared ideas. I have been a member since 2024, but they didn’t give me a single euro. Neither did I want it. I decided that I would apply in November 2022.” He criticizes the “lack of equal opportunities for ordinary citizens” and states that he complained to the Ministry of Internal Affairs: “180 proponents of my candidacy appeared on the candidacy portal website in October, many months after they joined. It is the rule of the electoral law that you only have ten days to change it.” Without “knowing where to vote yet”, he admits that he can, “for the first time” opt for the “useful vote between Seguro and Marques Mendes”leaving criticism of the status of the social democrat acquired as a commentator.
Now, the signatures will have to be validated to continue the legal procedures. Livre, given that it was the last candidacy to be presented and had a smaller participation base in several areas of the territory, had the most difficulty in gathering support for Jorge Pinto via digital mobile key.
Know the profile of each candidate
André Pestana
Professor and leader of the Union of All Education Professionals (S.TO.P), he was one of the first candidates to announce his intention to run for Belém. He is 48 years old and has a political past linked to left-wing parties.
Andre Ventura
The president of Chega assumes the candidacy supported by the party. This is the second time he has run for President of the Republic. In 2021 it came in third place, with just under 500 thousand votes.
Antonio Filipe
Former PCP deputy, 62 years old, has been a member of the party since 1983. A lawyer and university professor, he entered the presidential race supported by the CDU.
António José Seguro
Former general secretary of the PS, he was away from political life after leaving the leadership of the party (which now supports him). After being a television commentator, he decided to move on to the race for Belém. In addition to politics, he is a university professor.
Catarina Martins
The former BE leader and current MEP, was the only woman in these presidential elections, until Joana Amaral Dias made her candidacy official. At 52 years old, she will try to achieve a better result than Marisa Matias in 2021 (fifth place).
Henrique Gouveia e Melo
The retired admiral became known for leading the Covid-19 vaccination task force. It is not supported by any party. He entered as the main favorite, but has fallen in the polls.
Humberto Correia
Born in Olhão, the painter and author delivered 9 thousand signatures. He ran for mayor of Faro in 2017 and now wants to reach Belém.
Joana Amaral Dias
She was the last candidate to deliver her signatures to the TC. He became the 12th name to do so. It is supported by ADN, for which it was head of the list for Lisbon in the legislative elections.
João Cotrim Figueiredo
The former IL leader was the first to deliver signatures to the TC. He is supported by the party he led, after Mariana Leitão withdrew from her candidacy.
Jorge Pinto
Among the 12 names, the candidate supported by Livre was the last to announce his candidacy. At 38 years old, he is the youngest candidate in these presidential elections. He has been a deputy for Livre since 2024.
Luís Marques Mendes
The former leader of the PSD (the party he left when he said he was a candidate) is supported by the Social Democrats and the CDS. He was the first candidate to announce himself as such, on February 6th. The State Councilor (since 2016) was also a PSD deputy and minister in two governments.
Manuel João Vieira
The musician, face of Ena Pá 2000 and Irmãos Catita, was a candidate previously. The first time he did so was in 2001. This year, he enters the race for the Belém Palace again, having presented 12,500 signatures to the Constitutional Court.