Local elections were held in Portugal on 12 December 1982. They were the third local elections in Portugal since the democratic revolution of 1974 introduced the concept of democratic local power. The elections consisted of three separate elections in the 305 Portuguese municipalities that existed at the time, 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 4,000 parishes around the country. The Socialist Party finished once more on the top of the results table, increasing its share by 4 points, however that was because the coalition between the two major right-wing parties, the Democratic and Social Center and the Social Democratic Party, the Democratic Alliance, did not participate in all Municipalities and Parishes, being the parties which composed it, separated in many Municipalities. This right wing coalition did, however, lose some voting in relation to the previous election. The left-wing United People Alliance dominated the election in the municipalities of the South of the country, gathering more than 60 percent of the votes and achieving its best result ever with 20.7 percent and 55 mayors. Despite the victory of the Democratic Alliance, the then PSD leader and Prime Minister Francisco Pinto Balsemão considered the results a disappointment, citting divisions with his own party and the alliance, and resigned from both posts. This decision led to a snap general election in April 1983.

Parties

The main political forces involved in the election were:

Results

Municipal Councils

National summary of votes and seats

! rowspan="2" colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left|Parties ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|±pp swing ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Candidacies ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Councillors ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Mayors ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Total ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|± ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Total ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|±

Municipality map

[Most voted parties or coalitions in each Municipality. Municipalities won by:

■ - PS: 84 ■ - APU: 55 ■ - AD: 49 ■ - PSD: 88 ■ - CDS: 27 ■ - PPM: 1 ■ - ASDI: 1 | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Aut%C3%A1rquicas///portuguesas///de///1982///%28Mapa///C%C3%A2mara%29.png]

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 1981 Census.

Municipal Assemblies

National summary of votes and seats

! rowspan="2" colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left|Parties ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|±pp swing ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Candidacies ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Mandates ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Total ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|±

Parish Assemblies

National summary of votes and seats

! rowspan="2" colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left|Parties ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|±pp swing ! rowspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Candidacies ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Mandates ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Presidents ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Total ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|± ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|Total ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align="center"|±

Maps