Voters in Portugal voted in early elections on Sunday. It is believed that the eight-year socialist rule of this European country may tilt towards the right wing in this election. Earlier, the final opinion polls published last Friday show that the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) party is slightly ahead of the left-wing Socialist Party (PS). But they will not be able to get an absolute majority in the parliament. In that case, they may have to form an alliance with Chega, another far-right party, to come to power.
In the country of one crore population, polling starts at eight in the morning local time and ends at eight in the evening. Four months ago, Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned after corruption allegations surfaced. After that, early elections are being held in the country. Antonio Costa was named as a suspect, but investigators arrested his chief of staff on corruption charges. Then Costa decided not to stand for election. He supported the socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos.
Despite economic growth under the Socialist Party, Portuguese voters are concerned about high inflation, deteriorating public services and a housing crisis. AD leader Luis Montenegro, a 51-year-old lawyer, campaigned on promises to cut taxes, increase economic growth and improve the service sector.
According to analysts, it will be easier for the AD party to rule the country if it can reach an agreement with Chega as an opposition party. Chega leader Andre Ventura, a former apprentice priest and prominent TV commentator of football, is now in the discussion. He called for tougher measures to fight corruption, tighter controls on immigration and the eradication of sex crimes.
Founded just five years ago, the Chega party won its first seat in Portugal’s 230-seat parliament in 2019. In the 2022 elections, the party increased its seats to 12 seats. This time their number of seats can be doubled.
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