The Socialist Party candidate António José Seguro won with 66.7% of votes, compared with 33.3% for André Ventura's far-right Chega party according to official results with 99% of votes counted.
Centre-left Socialist candidate António José Seguro takes a convincing win over far-right rival André Ventura in Sunday's Portuguese presidential election, according to official results with 99% of votes counted.
Seguro, 63, secured a five-year term in Lisbon with 66.7% of the vote compared with 33.3% for Ventura's Chega party. The new socialist leader, campaigned as a moderate candidate and pledged cooperation with Portugal's centre-right minority government, rejecting Ventura's anti establishment and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
He gathered support from other mainstream politicians who want to halt the rising populist tide.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to social media to congratulate Seguro, she wrote “Portugal’s voice for our shared European values remains strong.”
11 million people in Portugal and abroad were eligible to cast their ballots for the election.
António José Seguro was a favourite to win the runoff against André Ventura, whose Chega party was created in 2019 and is now the largest opposition force in parliament.
In the first round of the election, Seguro won 31.1% of the vote while Ventura took 23.52%.
In Portugal, the presidency is largely a figurehead with no executive authority. Traditionally, the head of state remains above party politics, acting as a mediator to resolve disputes and ease tensions.
This story is developing and will be updated by our journalists as more news comes in.
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