ISTANBUL

Portuguese voters head to the polls Sunday to elect their next president, with surveys pointing to a possible second-round vote amid rising support for the far right.

As incumbent conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who won nearly 60% of the vote in 2021, completes his second and final five-year term, 11 candidates are competing to succeed him. They include Andre Ventura of the far-right Chega party, who secured nearly 12% in the last presidential election.

Other prominent contenders are Luis Marques Mendes of the ruling center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), Antonio Jose Seguro of the opposition Socialist Party, Joao Cotrim de Figueiredo of the Liberal Initiative party, and independent candidate Henrique Gouveia e Melo.

According to a poll released Wednesday by RTP News, a second round scheduled for Feb. 8 appears almost certain, with Ventura and Seguro expected to advance.

The survey shows Ventura leading with around 24% of the vote, followed closely by Seguro at 23%, while Figueiredo trails with 19%.

Portugal has held a second round in a presidential election only once, in 1986, when former Socialist Prime Minister Mario Soares overturned a first-round defeat to beat Freitas do Amaral.

The campaign has taken place against a backdrop of debates over social inequality, low wages, housing shortages, restrictions on migrant rights, and labor policies introduced by the conservative government of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.

Chega, founded seven years ago and led by Ventura, became the main opposition party for the first time after early parliamentary elections held last May.

Although Ventura is expected to top the first round, analysts say securing an outright majority in a runoff would be challenging.

Around 11 million voters are registered for the election, including approximately 1.6 million living abroad.