Local elections were held in Portugal on 14 December 1997. The elections consisted of three separate elections in the 305 Portuguese municipalities, the election for the Municipal Chambers, whose winner is automatically elected mayor, similar to first-past-the-post (FPTP), another election for the Municipal Assembly and a last one for the lower-level Parish Assembly, whose winner is elected parish president. This last was held separately in the more than 4,200 parishes around the country.
The Socialist Party (PS) maintained as the largest local political force, although only just, winning 128 cities, one more compared to 1993, and increasing their vote share to above 41 percent. In reality, PS and PSD basically tied in this elections, but the Socialists were able to hold on to big cities like Lisbon, Porto, Sintra and Coimbra. On the other hand, the PS lost some cities to the PSD, particularly Vila Nova de Gaia and Figueira da Foz, the latter won by Pedro Santana Lopes, future Lisbon mayor and Prime Minister.
The Social Democratic Party (PSD) made big gains, winning 11 cities and basically catching up with the Socialists. They also increased their share of vote to 35 percent. The PSD gained many cities from the PS, such as Bragança, Covilhã, Silves, Tavira and Alcobaça. Although the PSD didn't performed very strongly in the big urban centers, they performed extremely well in many medium and small cities across the country, but that same bad performance in the big urban centers, such as Lisbon and Porto, created criticisms to the leadership of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The election was quite bad for Democratic Unity Coalition (CDU), as they continued their fall in local politics. The Communist/Green coalition lost 8 cities and decreased their vote share to 12 percent. The CDU lost many of their bastions to the PS, such as Cuba, Amadora, Vila Franca de Xira and Sesimbra. They also saw a decrease in number of councillors, although here the fall was soft, as they lost just 10 councillors compared to 1993.
The People's Party (PP) also continued its decline in local politics. The party only won 8 cities, a fall of 5 cities, and dropped its share of the vote to the lowest level till that time, 5.7 percent. They lost big cities like Aveiro to the PS and Vila Verde to the PSD. One surprise in the elections was the victory of the People's Monarchist Party (PPM) in Penalva do Castelo, Viseu district, over the People's Party.
Turnout in these elections dropped in comparison with the 1993 election, as 60.1 percent of the electorate cast a ballot.
Parties.
The main political forces involved in the election were:
1 The PSD and the CDS–PP formed coalitions in some municipalities. 
2 The PS formed a coalition with CDU and UDP in Lisbon.
Results.
Municipal Councils.
City control.
The following table lists party control in all district capitals, highlighted in bold, as well as in municipalities above 100,000 inhabitants. Population estimates from the 1991 Census.
References.
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