.Since the formation of the democratic republic and its constitution in 1976, four main political parties emerged; • PCP (Partida Comunista Português), • PS (Partido Socialista), • PPD/PSD (Partido Popular Democratico/Partido Social Democrática) • CDS (Centro Democrática Social). The PS and the PSD dominate the national and regional governments and have similar base politics, both with focus on market economy and pro – Europe.
In 2005, José Sócrates became Prime Minister with the PS, winning the election from the PSD, and achieved an absolute majority for the first time in the party's history. Since being a republic, Portugal also has a Head of State, currently Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who won the 2006 presidential election. The Presidential powers have varied over the years, he does however have the power to dissolve Parliament and this was used in 2004 when the former President Sampaio removed the controversial Pedro Lopes, despite him having a majority in government.
The President is elected for five years, is commander in chief of the armed forces, and can serve two consecutive terms. The other main parts of the government are the Council of Ministers (the government), the Assembly of the Republic (the parliament) and the judiciary. The parliament comprises 230 members who serve terms of 4 years and are elected using a form of proportional representation. Political Geography Mainland Portugal is divided into 5 administrative regions and 18 districts.
The districts are each made up of three bodies which include the district assembly, consultative council and civil governor. The district assemblies are decision making bodies comprising town councillors, the mayors of municipal councils and members of each municipal assembly. There are 308 municipalities (councils) in Portugal, which are in turn sub divided into a total of 4252 Parishes.
The two autonomous zones of the Azores and Madeira have had their own legislative power and governments since 1976, and submit legislative proposals to the Portuguese Parliament (Assembleia da Republica)