Portuguese PM’s centre-right party claims election win, falls short of majority
Centre-left Socialists and far-right Chega are fighting neck-and-neck for second spot, provisional results show
Portugal’s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) claimed victory in Sunday’s early parliamentary election, but again fell short of a full majority, provisional data showed, leaving the centre-left Socialists and far-right Chega neck-and-neck for second spot.
Montenegro has denied any wrongdoing and voters have largely dismissed the opposition’s criticism and apparently punished the main opposition Socialists at the polls for being instrumental in bringing down his minority government.
With nearly all the ballots counted, electoral data showed the AD receiving more than 32 per cent of the vote. Far-right Chega, on the other hand, outperformed most opinion polls and was at 22.6 per cent, compared with the 18 per cent it obtained in last year’s election. The Socialists won 23.4 per cent, down from 28 per cent last year, a huge blow to one of Portugal’s two main parties.
Pedro Nuno Santos, leader of the Socialists, said he was stepping down after virtually tying with Chega.
The party will hold an internal ballot soon to elect a new leader. Santos said he would not be a candidate.