MADRID

Opposition Socialist Party (PS) candidate Antonio Jose Seguro was elected president of Portugal after securing 66.2% of the vote in the second round of presidential elections held on Sunday.

More than 11 million voters went to the polls to choose a new president to succeed Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was not eligible to run again after serving two consecutive terms.

According to official results released by the National Electoral Commission, Seguro received 66.2% of the vote, while far-right Chega party leader Andre Ventura received 33.8%.

With this result, 63-year-old Seguro became the eighth president in Portugal’s democratic history since 1974.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced that Antonio Jose Seguro had been elected president after winning the runoff vote.

Speaking to journalists in Porto, Montenegro said that despite his party’s heavy defeat in the presidential election, the minority government would continue its work, adding that the Portuguese people want stability.

‘My aim is to serve the country’

Speaking briefly to reporters while heading from his home to the Caldas da Rainha Cultural Center, chosen by the Socialist Party for election night, Seguro said the Portuguese people are exceptional and have shown a tremendous commitment to democracy, adding that he believes he has earned their trust, calling the result very positive, and saying his goal is to serve the country and focus only on the future.

Seguro served as leader of the Socialist Party from 2011 to 2014 and as deputy prime minister between 2001 and 2002.

Far-right leader Ventura also made a brief statement to journalists after leaving a church service, saying that Seguro won the election and wishing him an excellent term. He fully accepts the result and that the country needs responsible politicians, he added.

Voter turnout was reported at around 51% in the election, which was held while a state of emergency remained in effect due to severe weather conditions caused by heavy rainfall.

This marked only the second time in Portugal’s democratic history that a presidential election went to a second round.

In the first round held on Jan. 18, Seguro received 31% of the vote, while Ventura secured 23%, earning both candidates a place in the runoff.

The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate, Luis Marques Mendes, finished fifth in the first round with just 11% of the vote and failed to advance to the second round.

Current political, economic situation in Portugal

Social inequality, low wages, difficulties in accessing housing, laws restricting migrants’ rights, and debates over limitations on labor rights introduced by the conservative government led by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro remain at the top of the country’s agenda.

In Portugal, where economic growth has hovered around 2% over the past two years and unemployment stands slightly above 6%, the country witnessed its largest general strike in recent years on Dec. 11.

Center-right PSD leader Luis Montenegro has served as prime minister since April 2024.

*Writing by Merve Berker in Ankara