Portugal must choose its president in a runoff election on February 8th.
01/19/2026, 05:2701/19/2026, 05:27
In Sunday’s election, Antonio José Seguro from the social democratic-oriented Socialist Party (PS) came in first with a good 31 percent, as the electoral authority CNE announced. The head of the emerging right-wing populists, André Ventura, achieved another success and took second place. After more than 99 percent of all electoral districts were counted, the 43-year-old received 23.5 percent of the votes. Because none of the eleven candidates won an absolute majority, the runoff election is necessary.
Antonio José Seguro got the most votes…Image: keystone
There, however, Ventura is given little chance of becoming the successor to the conservative incumbent Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (77), who was no longer allowed to run after two five-year terms in office. The new president is scheduled to take office on March 9th.
… but André Ventura is on his heels.Image: keystone
The head of state has relatively much power in the EU country. The president can veto laws, dissolve parliament and call new elections. The popular and popular Rebelo de Sousa even did the latter twice in his second term in office, namely with corruption allegations against the socialist Prime Minister António Costa in November 2023 and against the conservative Montenegro in March last year.
Prestige success for right-wing populists
The good performance in the fight to succeed Rebelo de Sousa underlines the rapid rise of right-wing populists in Portugal. Only six years after its founding, Ventura’s Chega (Enough) party had become the second strongest force in the Lisbon parliament in May last year, behind Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s conservative alliance.
The two-party system that has existed for 50 years has been “killed” and will soon form the government, said the law professor, author and former sports commentator, who is called “Hurricane” by the media and repeatedly incites against minorities.
For the first time since 1986, a second round will be necessary in the election of the head of state in Portugal. Meanwhile, Ventura is given little chance of winning there. The reason: More than 60 percent of those surveyed said that they would definitely not want to vote for the right-wing populist in a runoff election. However, the media spoke of another prestige success for the aspiring politician.
It was the eleventh presidential election since the Carnation Revolution of 1974. The eleven candidates also represent a record number of applicants for the highest state office. (sda/dpa)