Unprecedented: there were more invalid votes than blank votes for the first time in presidential elections

The ballot paper had more names than ever, including three whose candidacy was not approved.

For the first time in presidential elections since April 25th, the Null vote surpassed blank votein elections in which the ballots had the three names that were not approved.

In the national territory, there were 64,817 null votes e 60,899 blank voteswhich correspond to a increase of 62% and 23%respectively, in relation to the 2021 elections, the year of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s re-election — in the 2021 elections, there were seven candidates (the same ones that appeared on the ballot papers) and, in the national territory, invalid votes represented 0.94% (39,854 votes), while white votes were 1.1% (46,862).

In a check of the remaining presidential elections, whenever invalid votes were distinguished between blank and invalid votes, the former were always higher than the latter.

This year, despite the warnings — and against the decision of the Constitutional Court, which considered the candidacies of Joana Amaral Dias, Ricardo Sousa and José Cardoso invalid — the ballots bore the names of these candidates: whoever put the ‘x’ on them, voted null.

A second round of the Portuguese presidential elections will take place on the day February 8 and will be contested by the winner of the first round, António José Seguro, and André Ventura, who came in second place.