First Round
General Summary
Incumbent president Mário Soares was constitutionally barred from a third term.
The Social Democrats were coming from a clear defeat in Portuguese legislative election, 1995 , and their former leader, Cavaco Silva, who had left the office of Prime Minister after ten years at the helm, lost by 400,000 votes to Lisbon mayor Jorge Sampaio.
The two other left-wing candidates both left the race one week before the elections, announcing their support for Sampaio. With only two candidates left on the race, no second round was needed, and Sampaio was inaugurated to his first term in office on 9 March 1996.
See also: President of Portugal, Portugal, Politics of Portugal
