The current President, known as the President of the “people and hugs”, announced his decision in the same place where in 2016 his campaign centre had been located, in a pastry shop in Belém.

“I am running as a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, because we have a pandemic to face, because we have an economic and social crisis to overcome, because we have a unique opportunity to overcome the crisis and change Portugal for the better”, said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in the Versailles pastry shop in Belém, Lisbon, with the colours of the national flag behind him.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also defended that Portugal needs to continue to have a President of the Republic “with proximity” to the citizens and who also contributes to a political framework of “democratic pluralism, dialogue and convergence”.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is a retired professor of Law, he was the former president of the PSD party and a political opinion maker on television (TVI) and assumed the leadership of the State on 9 March 2016 after being elected with 52 percent of the votes.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who will turn 72 on 12 December, is running for the presidential elections for the second time for a mandate of another five years, the maximum that the Portuguese law allows.

When submitting his candidacy, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa became the new candidate among the nine already running for the presidential elections. In addition to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the other candidates are: Ana Gomes, André Ventura, Bruno Fialho, João Ferreira, Marisa Matias, Paulo Alves, Tiago Mayan and Vitorino Silva.

Brief notes on the other eight candidates
Ana Maria Rosa Martins Gomes, 66 years old, is a lawyer and ex diplomat, having stood out as head of the Portuguese diplomatic mission in Indonesia during the process of the independence of Timor-Leste.

André Claro Amaral Ventura, 37, is a university professor, president of the Chega party and a deputy since 2019, the year in which the party ran for the first time in legislative elections, which he was elected as the only deputy of the party.
Bruno Fialho, 45, exercised the profession of lawyer and is president of the Democratic Republican Party (PDR).

João Manuel Peixoto Ferreira, 42, is a biologist, MEP and councilor at the Lisbon City Council and deputy of the PCP party.

Marisa Isabel dos Santos Matias, 44, is a sociologist and MEP elected by the Bloco de Esquerda since 2009, the party of which she is a leader, integrating the National Bureau and the Political Commission.

Joaquim Paulo Pinto Alves, 51, is a businessman and was a candidate for the Municipality of Felgueiras in 2017 by the Juntos Pelo Povo party (JPP).

Tiago Mayan Gonçalves, 43, is a lawyer and one of the founders of the Liberal Initiative party, currently presiding over its Jurisdiction Council.

Vitorino Francisco da Rocha e Silva (known as Tino de Rans), 49 years old, was a paver and president of the parish of Rans (his native land, in the municipality of Penafiel) between 1994 and 2002, elected on the PS lists.

Despite declaring their candidacy, candidates are only formalised after being accepted by the Constitutional Court and after the presentation and verification of a minimum of 7,500 and a maximum of 15,000 signatures of voters, which will have to be submitted until Christmas Eve, 30 days before elections, according to the Republican Portuguese Constitution.