Portugal votes Sunday in a second-round presidential election to choose a successor to conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for the largely ceremonial head-of-state role. Polling stations on the mainland open at 8 a.m. local time for about 11 million eligible voters in a historic runoff — the first in 40 years and only the second since democracy was restored in 1974.
The clear favorite is 63-year-old Antonio Jose Seguro of the center-left Socialist Party, who opinion polls suggest could take up to two-thirds of the vote. His 43-year-old rival, right-wing populist Andre Ventura of Chega, is forecast to get around 34%. In the first round three weeks ago, Seguro led with 31% but fell short of an outright majority.
Seguro has presented himself as a moderate willing to cooperate with Portugal’s center-right minority government. The veteran politician returned from a teaching hiatus specifically to run and has cast the contest as a choice between democracy and radicalism.
Ventura — a former TV sports commentator and lawyer — leads Chega, a party that has risen rapidly since its founding seven years ago on anti-establishment and anti-immigrant rhetoric. He has campaigned for tougher corruption and crime measures, proposing harsher sentences including life terms and chemical castration for sex offenders. Ventura has used provocative messaging — including billboards reading “This isn’t Bangladesh” and “Immigrants shouldn’t be allowed to live on welfare” — and promises generous state support targeted to Portuguese nationals only. Chega became the second-largest party in parliament after the May 18 general election.
Stabilizing politics will be a key task for the next president. Portugal has held three general elections in three years amid collapses of previous administrations over corruption and conflicts of interest, rising populism, and fragile minority governments. The center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition holds 91 seats in the 230-seat parliament and still lacks an absolute majority, complicating governance.
Turnout is expected to fall to about 52%, in part because severe storms recently hit parts of Portugal and neighboring Spain. Around 19 municipalities have postponed voting by a week because of flooding or blocked roads. Election authorities rejected Ventura’s call for a nationwide delay. Polling stations on the mainland and Madeira close at 7 p.m.; the Azores vote for an extra hour.
The winner is expected to take office on March 9, succeeding Rebelo de Sousa, who has led the country since 2016. While largely a ceremonial figure, the Portuguese president can veto legislation, dissolve parliament and call early elections.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery