Conservative coalition wins elections in Portugal

The Portuguese prime minister, the right-wing Luis Montenegro, won Sunday's early legislative elections, but, as a year ago, failed to win a sufficient majority to guarantee political stability in the Iberian country.

The result threatens to leave Portugal, a member of NATO and the European Union, once again without a stable government as the bloc grapples with rising global trade tensions and works to bolster its defenses.

According to nearly complete official results, Montenegro's ruling Democratic Alliance (AD) won 32.7% of the vote, compared with 23.4% for the Socialist Party and 22.6% for the Chega ("Enough") party.

Excluding the four mandates from overseas constituencies, which will not be allocated until the next few days, the outgoing coalition won 89 seats out of a total of 230, well short of the absolute majority of 116 deputies.

"The people want this government."

"The people want this government and this prime minister," Montenegro told his celebrating supporters after the results were announced.

Despite the fact that the challengers could hold the key to govern, Montenegro, a 52-year-old lawyer, has rejected any alliance with Chega, stating that it is an "unreliable" party and "unfit to govern."

The AD leader was the central protagonist of the campaign, as he himself provoked these early elections by resigning in March following suspicions of conflict of interest related to a consulting company registered in his home and in the name of his children.

The AD coalition formed a minority government after the last elections and managed to pass budgets that increase pensions and public sector salaries thanks to the abstention of the Socialists in key votes.