Portugal elects moderate socialist as president

Moderate socialist António José Seguro secured a landslide victory in the second round of elections on Sunday and a five-year term as Portuguese president, defeating his right-wing populist and anti-establishment rival André Ventura. This was shown by opinion polls and partial results.

With nearly 70 percent of the votes counted, 63-year-old Seguro had 64 percent. Ventura trailed with 36 percent, but is still likely to achieve a much better result than the 22.8 percent his anti-immigration Chega party achieved in last year's general election.

Chega became the second-largest parliamentary force last year, overtaking the center-left Socialists and finishing behind the center-right ruling alliance, which won 31.2 percent.

Despite Sunday's defeat, Ventura, a charismatic 43-year-old former television sports commentator, can now boast increased support that reflects the growing influence of the populist right in Portugal and much of Europe.

Seguro presented himself as a candidate of the "modern and moderate" left who can actively mediate the resolution of political crises and defend democratic values. After the first round, he also gained support from prominent conservatives.

(reuters, im)