Portugal’s center-left Socialist Party won a third consecutive general election on Sunday, bringing it back to power as the country prepared to spend billions of euros (dollars) in European Union economic aid following the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Socialists won at least 112 seats in the 230-seat parliament in a poll held despite a spike in coronavirus cases and with roughly 1 million afflicted voters allowed to leave their homes to vote.
The Socialists got 41 percent of the vote with 98.7 percent of the ballots counted, compared to 28 percent for their largest challenger, the center-right Social Democratic Party, which won at least 68 parliamentary seats. There were eighteen seats left to be assigned.
It remained uncertain if the Socialists would reach 116 lawmakers and be able to pass legislation on their own, or if they would fall short and have to forge deals with minor parties to gain support. It’s possible that late results will be available on Monday.
António Costa, the Socialist leader who is anticipated to return to his job as Prime Minister, immediately extended an olive branch to his opponents. He stated that forming coalitions with other parties in parliament will help the country overcome its economic issues caused by the pandemic.
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