Voters head to the polls on Sunday in Portugal’s parliamentary election, which is expected to be a showdown between two moderate parties, even as the far-right look to grow their influence.
Although opinion polls suggest a narrow victory for the center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition over the ruling Socialist Party (PS), neither key party is expected to secure a majority.
Meanwhile, the far-right party Chega (Enough) is predicted to make sizeable gains, with surveys showing support increasing from just over 7% to around 15-20%.
Polls are due to open at 8 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) on the mainland and an hour later on the Azores archipelago.
Around 10.8 million people are eligible to vote to elect 230 legislators to the Portuguese parliament.
The campaign focussed on issues such as corruption, economic concerns, and health care.
Exit poll predictions are expected at around 8 p.m.
How will the far right influence the election?
Without an absolute majority, the two leading candidates — Pedro Nuno Santos of the Socialists and Luis Montenegro of the AD — might have to forge alliances with smaller parties to form a government.
The Socialist Party could look to former left-wing allies for alliances, while the Democratic Alliance would face a tough challenge to form a government without Chega, amid its surging popularity.
Conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa faced criticism on Friday after he said in an interview that he would do everything he can to prevent Chega from gaining power. He was called out for deviating from his mandate of remaining neutral.
Montenegro of the AD, meanwhile, has ruled out any post-election agreement with Chega.
Chega’s election manifesto vows to deal with “excessive” immigration while also addressing government corruption. Since the 2022 election, the far-right party has seen its support base more than double.
That would mirror gains by far-right parties across Europe.
Why were the elections held early?
The early election was called two years ahead of schedule after former Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned due to corruption investigations involving his chief of staff.
Costa himself has not been accused of any crime.
The investigations involved alleged illegalities in how his government handled major investment projects.
ss/nm (Reuters, dpa)
