LISBON, Reuters, Jan 25, 2016 – Center-right candidate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won Portugal’s presidential election on Sunday, an outcome that should help maintain political balance after a dramatic swing to the left in October’s parliamentary ballot.
In his victory speech, Social Democrat Rebelo de Sousa, 67, said he will work to promote consensus and repair divisions created in the aftermath of the previous election when the left ousted a center-right administration that imposed tough austerity under an international bailout in 2011-14.
Portugal’s president is a largely ceremonial figure but he plays an important role at times of political uncertainty – as have gripped the country since last October’s inconclusive parliamentary election. He has the power to dissolve parliament and fire the prime minister.
With nearly all votes counted, preliminary results showed Rebelo de Sousa, a former journalist and one-time leader of the center-right Social Democrats, winning 52 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff.
His closest rival, Socialist Antonio Sampaio da Novoa, conceded defeat after picking up around 23 percent of the vote. Left Bloc candidate Marisa
Many political analysts do not expect the Socialist-led government to serve a full four-year term and the new president could play a key role, either as mediator between the parties or using his power to dissolve parliament and call new elections.
Barely half of registered Portuguese voters cast their ballot in Sunday’s election, though turnout was up slightly from the previous presidential poll in 2011.