Centre-right parties on course to narrowly defeat incumbent socialists in Portugal
Sam Jones
Exit polls suggest a coalition of Portuguese centre-right parties is on course to narrowly defeat the incumbent socialists but fall well short of a majority in Sunday’s closely fought snap general election, with the far-right Chega party looking set to double its share of the vote and finish third.
Three polls, published shortly after voting ended at 8pm local time, suggest the Democratic Alliance – an electoral platform made up of the large Social Democratic party (PSD) and two smaller conservative parties – is set to finish ahead of the Socialist party (PS).
Chega is projected to come in third with a massively increased share of the vote, raising the prospect that it could act as a king-maker in the formation a new, centre-right administration.
Read the full story here.
Key events
Jordan Bardella, president of France’s National Rally, has joined other voices across Europe’s far-right in congratulating Chega.
Les Portugais défendent leur identité et leur prospérité, et balayent les socialistes corrompus ! Félicitations à @AndreCVentura et à son jeune parti qui réalisent une très belle percée.
Amis de Chega, rendez-vous ensemble au Parlement européen au lendemain du 9 juin ! 🇫🇷🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/ktF4dIdqeV
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) March 10, 2024
Harald Vilimsky, member of the European parliament for the Freedom Party of Austria, has also congratulated Chega.
Maximilian Krah, member of the European parliament for Alternative for Germany, said Chega is on the way to a “fantastic success.”
Valérie Hayer, president of Renew Europe, has congratulated the small Liberal Initiative party.
Félicitations à @LiberalPT qui confirme, trois ans après ses premières élections, son ancrage durable dans la vie politique du Portugal.
Plein soutien à nos amis portugais pour les élections européennes de juin !
— Valérie Hayer (@ValerieHayer) March 10, 2024
Where does the counting stand?
It’s about 9:30pm local time.
Based on votes counted thus far, the centre-right Democratic Alliance is at 31.4%.
The Socialist party is at 28.7%, and the far-right Chega is at 19.1%.
Thank you to the many readers who shared their thoughts.
Derek, a British citizen living in Estoril, says: “I love Portugal but it has real problems…Too many young people leave so we need to make Portugal more attractive so that they stay! So a new start is needed whether from the right or the left.”
One Portuguese reader writes in: “André Ventura and the far-right being elevated into a kingmaker position like this is an absolute disaster, and is a dire sign regarding the future of the country.”
The far-right Chega is celebrating its results tonight.
In 2022, the party took about 7%. Now, it could take about 19%.
Here are the latest numbers, as counting continues.
Here are images from the centre-right Democratic Alliance’s election night headquarters.
Centre-right in lead as vote count continues
With 69% of the votes counted, the centre-right is in the lead.
Democratic Alliance: 31,44%
Socialist party: 29,11%
Far-right Chega: 19,23%
The counting of votes is under way.
Here’s a photo of far-right Chega supporters reacting to the first exit polls.
Reader weighs in
Luis, a reader, writes in that “Portugal’s problem is not the far right but that, like in Greece, the succession of socialist governments brought the country to its knees.”
What do you think? Send comments to [email protected].
Centre-right parties on course to narrowly defeat incumbent socialists in Portugal
Sam Jones
Exit polls suggest a coalition of Portuguese centre-right parties is on course to narrowly defeat the incumbent socialists but fall well short of a majority in Sunday’s closely fought snap general election, with the far-right Chega party looking set to double its share of the vote and finish third.
Three polls, published shortly after voting ended at 8pm local time, suggest the Democratic Alliance – an electoral platform made up of the large Social Democratic party (PSD) and two smaller conservative parties – is set to finish ahead of the Socialist party (PS).
Chega is projected to come in third with a massively increased share of the vote, raising the prospect that it could act as a king-maker in the formation a new, centre-right administration.
Read the full story here.
And here are Pitagorica’s projections, for CNN Portugal and TVI:
Centre-right Democratic Alliance between 28% and 33%
Socialist party between 24.5% and 29.5%
Far-right Chega between 16.6% and 21.6%
A second exit poll also puts the centre-right in the lead.
This poll, conducted by Cesop for RTP, shows the following:
Centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD): between 29% and 33%, and between 83 and 91 deputies
Socialist party (PS): between 25% and 29%, between 69 and 77 deputies
Far-right Chega: between 14% and 17%, between 40 and 46 deputies
Liberal Initiative: between 5% and 7%, between 7 and 10 deputies
Left Bloc: between 4% and 6%, between 5 and 7 deputies
