LISBON – Socialists in power triumph in early legislative elections in Portugal: with 37-42 percent of votes, the outgoing premier’s PS Anthony Costa it could even get an absolute majority of seats. According to the first projections released by public TV RTP, the socialists are accredited with 102/116 seats (the total number of parliamentarians is 230). Far away the PSD, the center-right Social Democrats led by the former mayor of Porto Rui Rio: 30-35% of votes and 84/94 seats. Chega’s far right is growing, with a percentage between 5 and 8 percent.
The journey of the last legislature was interrupted after only two years when, following the parliamentary rejection of the budget law presented by Costa, the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on 4 November last, it decided to dissolve the Chambers.
Elections in Portugal: the “Costa model” in crisis, the country tempted by the right
by Daniele Mastrogiacomo
Voter turnout is increasing. Up to 16 o’clock, over 4.9 million voters had voted, 45.6 per cent of those entitled to vote, compared to 38.5 per cent in 2019. An even more significant figure if we consider that these laws, unlike the previous ones, take place with an ongoing pandemic wave. President Rebelo – who voted in Celorico de Basto, in the north of the country – called the increase in participation “a good sign”. “Nobody should be afraid to vote,” he added. However, according to initial projections, the level of abstention remains high.