Portugal’s ruling Socialists look set to win the most votes, and possibly an outright majority, in parliamentary election, exit polls show, triggering celebrations in PM Antonio Costa’s election headquarters.
Portugal’s ruling Socialists have won early election by a wide margin but may still fall short of an outright majority while the far right made huge gains, exit polls showed.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s party received between 37 percent and 42.5 percent of the vote, compared to between 27 percent to 35 percent for the main opposition centre-right PSD, according to the polls for TV stations RTP, SIC and TVI on Sunday.
That would give the Socialists 100 to 118 seats in the 230-seat parliament, up from 108 in the outgoing assembly.
A party needs at least 116 seats to have an absolute majority.
Celebrations
At the Socialist party’s campaign headquarters, supporters stood up cheering as the projected results were published.
A significant development was the rise of upstart far-right party Chega, which won up to 8.5 percent of the vote, which could make it the third-biggest party in the assembly with six to 14 seats.
The party has from just one lawmaker in the outgoing assembly and its rise mirrors gains for other populist far-right formations elsewhere in Europe.
The early election came as the nation of around 10 million people tries to boost its tourism-dependent economy which has been badly hit by the pandemic.
A stable government is needed for Portugal to make the most of a $18.7 billion package of European Union recovery funds it is due to receive by 2026.
Skills and experience
Costa, 60, had said during the campaign that he planned to govern alone if the Socialists failed to secure a majority, negotiating support from other parties for laws on a case-by-case basis.
Costa has relied on two far-left parties –– the left Bloc and the Communist Party –– to underpin two minority Socialist governments since 2015.
But the two formations turned against him in October and joined forces with the right to vote down his draft 2022 budget, prompting Sunday’s early election.
The Socialists had a comfortable lead when the election was called but the PSD managed to close the gap as the polls neared.
During the final week of the campaign Costa repeatedly warned that a PSD-led government would be a “hostage” to Chega, whose proposals include castrating sex offenders and tighter Covid-19 restrictions on the Roma community.
Rio had vowed not to include Chega in a government but has indicated he is willing to head a minority government propped up by support in parliament from the far right.
The ballot took place on Sunday amid a surge in Covid-19 cases blamed on the omicron variant, with about 1.2 million people confined at home but allowed to go to polling stations to vote.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Exit poll: PM Costa’s Socialists win re-election in Portugal
Source: Pinay Pop Showbiz
