The month of January 2022 was, without a doubt, marked by the Portuguese Legislative Elections and it’s Abstention Rate. After having seen its 2022 budget proposal failed in parliament, the Government was dissolved by the President of the Republic, who scheduled elections for January 30, 2022.

In this way, the country plunged into a political tide again, shortly after the Municipal Elections of September 2021.

Regardless of the result, there is one factor to take into account: the Abstention Rate.

According to PORDATA, since the Revolution of April 25, 1974 (8.47%), the trend of the Abstention Rate has been rising, reaching levels never seen before in the 2019 legislative elections, in which the value reached 51 .43%, that is, more than half of the population with the right to vote, did not exercise it.

The 2022 elections were a pleasant surprise as far as the Abstention Rate is concerned. For the first time since 2005, there has been a decline, with an abstention rate of 42.03% (to be updated), which is well below expectations and which breaks a worrying trend for Democracy.

At a time when extreme parties appear all over the world, it is now, more than ever, very important to face the right to vote as a duty, or to wait for a