Portugal opens polls in cliffhanger presidential vote

Portuguese voters cast their votes to elect a new president on Sunday (January 18) in a race that opinion polls suggest remains wide-open between at least three frontrunner candidates.

Andre Ventura, the far-right, anti-establishment leader of the main opposition party Chega, is marginally ahead on 24% of voting intentions, closely followed by Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro on 23%, according to the survey by Catolica University pollsters published by Publico daily on Wednesday.

Joao Cotrim de Figueiredo, a member of the European Parliament from the pro-business Liberal Initiative party, is also within striking range with 19%, given a 2.2% margin of error in the poll, which surveyed 1,770 voters.

If no candidate wins more than 50% of votes cast, a run-off has been tentatively set for February 8 - the first time such a vote will have been required in four decades, a reflection of how fragmented the political landscape has become.

Although the Portuguese presidency is a largely ceremonial role, it carries significant political weight at times of crises as the head of state can dissolve parliament, dismiss the government, call a snap election and veto legislation.

Outgoing conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been in office since 2016 and is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive five-year term. He has used his power to call snap elections thrice, in 2021, 2023 and 2025.

Production: Miguel Pereira, Silvio Castellanos/Reuters