Portugal elects Socialist as president in a landslide
Exit polls and partial results show moderate Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro securing a landslide victory over far-right, anti-establishment rival Andre Ventura in the second round of voting and securing a five-year term as Portugal’s president.
Although three municipal councils in southern and central Portugal were forced to postpone voting by a week due to flooding, Sunday’s turnout was about the same as the first round on January 18, while successive storms in recent days have failed to deter voters.
The postponement affected about 37,000 registered voters, or about 0.3 percent of the total electorate, and is unlikely to affect the overall outcome.
With almost 70 percent of the votes counted, Seguro, 63, received 64 percent of the vote.
Ventura trailed with 36 percent and is still likely to have a much stronger result than the 22.8 percent the anti-immigrant Chega party got in last year’s general election. In major cities such as Lisbon and Porto, votes are counted towards the end.
Two exit polls placed Seguro in the 67 percent to 73 percent range and Ventura in the 27 percent to 33 percent range.
Last year, Chega emerged as the second-largest force in parliament, trailing the Socialists behind the center-right ruling alliance, which won 31.2 percent of the vote.
Despite his defeat on Sunday, Ventura, 43, a charismatic former TV sports commentator, can now boast growing support that reflects the growing influence of the far right in Portugal and much of Europe.
Seguro presented himself as the candidate of the “modern and moderate” left, capable of actively mediating to prevent political crises and defend democratic values.
He received support from leading conservatives after the first round, amid concerns about what many saw as Ventura’s populist, authoritarian tendencies.
While Portugal’s presidency is a largely ceremonial role, it has some significant powers, including the power to dissolve parliament under certain circumstances.
Ventura advocated increasing the powers of the president, saying he would be a more “interventionist” president.
with AP
