Politics Parliamentary elections have begun in Portugal
Early parliamentary elections have begun in Portugal. A good 10.8 million Portuguese have been called to determine the distribution of the 230 seats in parliament in Lisbon. This is the third early election since 2022.
18.05.2025, 09:22
SDA
The ballot became necessary after the conservative minority government of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro was unexpectedly toppled in March after just under a year by a vote of no confidence that he himself had called. This was triggered by the opaque business dealings of one of the 52-year-old's family companies.
According to polls, Montenegro's conservative Alianca Democrática (AD) is nevertheless likely to see an increase of up to 34%, making it the strongest force once again. However, it would fall well short of the absolute majority of 116 parliamentary seats, as it did in 2024.
The Socialist Party (PS) is expected to lose ground and the right-wing populist Chega party could maintain its result of around 19% from last year, according to the polls. The conservative-liberal Iniciativa Liberal (IL) is likely to be the fourth strongest party. If the polls are confirmed, Montenegro, who has ruled out working with Chega, would probably have to form another minority government.
The polling stations on the mainland will close at 19:00 local time (20:00 CEST), but in the Azores further west they will not close until 21:00 CEST. Forecasts based on post-election polls will then be published. Reliable projections based on counted votes are not expected until later in the night.
