In Portugal, the ruling Socialist Party won the majority in the parliament to form the government alone, with a surprise result in the early general elections held yesterday.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa decided for early elections when he could not pass the budget after losing the support of two small parties. The United Democratic Coalition, consisting of the Left Bloc and the Communist Party and the Green Alliance, provided outside support to the minority government.
Costa said Portugal needs political stability for economic recovery.
The far-right Chega party also increased its votes in the elections, becoming the third party in the parliament.
Opinion polls published before the election indicated that the votes of the ruling party had decreased.
Prime Minister Costa, in his thank-you speech after the results were announced, stated that they would be everyone’s government and said, “Absolute majority does not mean absolute power. This result does not mean that we will rule the country alone. Our responsibility has increased even more.”
The Socialist Party increased the number of deputies in the 230-seat parliament from 108 to 117.
The centre-right Social Democrats in the main opposition won 71 seats.
The Socialist Party’s victory means that a stable government will be at work in the process of pulling the country out of the Covid pandemic and managing the European Union’s 16.6 billion euro aid package.
The far-right Chega is the third largest party
With this result, the Socialist Party won the absolute majority in the parliament for the second time in its history, while the far-right Chega became the third largest party in the parliament for the first time.
The leader of the party, former sports commentator Andre Ventura, came to the fore with his tough rhetoric against corruption and gypsies, and called for chemical castration for sexual assault offenders.
With these results, Ventura said, the era of “soft opposition” to the Socialists will come to an end.
Antonio Costa stated that they would be open to dialogue with all political parties except Chega if the President gave them the task of forming the government as expected.
In Portugal, with a population of about 10 million, one tenth of the population is in quarantine due to the Covid-19 outbreak. However, the government allowed these people to come to the voting centers. Election officials served in protective gear.