Centre-left Socialist candidate Antonio Jose Seguro won Portugal's presidential runoff election on Sunday with a decisive 66.7 percent of the vote, defeating far-right populist Andre Ventura of the Chega party who secured 33.3 percent. The result, announced with 99 percent of ballots counted, marks only the second time in Portugal's democratic history since 1974 that a presidential election has required a second round. Approximately 51 percent of the country's 11 million eligible voters participated in the ballot.
Seguro, 63, becomes Portugal's first Socialist president in two decades and the eighth head of state in the country's democratic era. A veteran politician who previously led the Socialist Party from 2011 to 2014 and served as deputy prime minister between 2001 and 2002, he positioned himself throughout the campaign as a moderate figure committed to institutional cooperation. In his victory address, he pledged loyalty to the centre-right minority government currently in power, stating that he would never act as a counter-power but would be a demanding president focused on delivering solutions and results for the Portuguese people.
The first round of voting in January had produced no outright winner, with Seguro leading on 31.1 percent and Ventura finishing second with 23.5 percent. The ruling Social Democratic Party's candidate Luis Marques Mendes managed only 11 percent, finishing fifth and failing to reach the runoff. In the decisive second round, mainstream political parties rallied behind Seguro to block Ventura, whose campaign combined anti-establishment rhetoric with anti-immigrant messaging, including billboards bearing the slogan 'This is not Bangladesh' and the declaration that 'Portugal is ours.'
Ventura, who founded the Chega party in 2019 and has transformed it into the largest opposition force in parliament, accepted the result gracefully, congratulating Seguro and wishing him an excellent term. He nonetheless insisted that his movement remained unstoppable and predicted that Chega would soon govern the country. His campaign surpassed 1.5 million votes for the first time, reflecting the continued growth of far-right populism in a country that had long been considered resistant to such forces in the post-dictatorship era.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Seguro, noting that Portugal's voice for shared European values remained strong. The election was closely watched across Europe as a test of populist momentum on the continent. Seguro succeeds outgoing President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and will serve a five-year term in the largely ceremonial role, which nonetheless carries significant powers including the ability to veto legislation and dissolve parliament. Portugal has experienced considerable political instability in recent years, with three general elections held in the space of three years, and Seguro has pledged to use his position to foster stability and dialogue.
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