The Democratic Alliance overtook the incumbent Socialists in a thrilling count that saw a rise of the far right.
Luis Montenegro, leader of Portugal's center-right opposition party Democratic Alliance (AD), claimed victory in the country's early general election after a close race against the ruling Socialists.
Montenegro declared itself the winner early Monday morning, shortly after Socialist Party (PS) leader Pedro Nuno Santos conceded defeat.
The AD and its conservative allies in Madeira won a total of at least 77 seats in the 230-seat parliament, ahead of the PS's 74. The far-right Chega came third with 46, with 11 seats still to be awarded after the final count.
“It seems inescapable that AD won the elections and that the socialists lost,” Montenegro told his enthusiastic supporters who had gathered in the capital, Lisbon.
Sunday's snap elections, sparked by the sudden resignation of socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa amid a corruption investigation, were marked by a surge in support for Chega, which positioned itself as an alternative to the two parties that have dominated for Portuguese politics for a long time.
It took place against a backdrop of low wages and a high cost of living – compounded last year by surges in inflation and interest rates – along with a housing crisis and failures in public healthcare.
Montenegro said that despite the close result, he would keep his electoral promise of not depending on Chega to govern. It was crucial that political parties in the new parliament acted responsibly and “fulfilled the wish of the Portuguese people”, he said.
Chega leader Andre Ventura, a former law professor and television football commentator, has said he is willing to abandon some of his party's most controversial proposals – including chemical castration for some sex offenders and the introduction of criminal penalties. of life imprisonment – if that allows his party to be included in a government alliance with other center-right parties
