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Elections in Portugal: Former Socialist minister António José Seguro wins the second round of elections

The former socialist minister won with 66.80% of the vote, against 33.20% for André Ventura, leader of the Chega party.

António José Seguro

António José SeguroPatricia De Melo Moreira / AFP

Sabrina Martin
Published by
Sabrina Martin

Former Socialist minister António José Seguro won the second round of the Portuguese presidential elections with 66.80% of the vote, compared to 33.20% for André Ventura, leader of the Chega party, according to official results published by the Ministry of Internal Administration after 99.17% of the votes had been counted.

The election was held after the first round on January 18, when Seguro obtained 31.11% of the votes and Ventura 23.52%. More than 11 million citizens were called to participate in the ballot.

Seguro's victory makes him the first leftist president of Portugal in twenty years and marks the takeover from Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative who completed two consecutive terms.

National participation was 50.96%. There were also blank votes, which accounted for 3.15%, and invalid votes, which accounted for 1.75%.

The scope of the presidential office

The Portuguese presidency is a largely ceremonial office, but it has relevant powers, such as the power to dissolve Parliament and block legislation under certain circumstances.

Some analysts suggest that the high level of rejection of Ventura, which hovers around two-thirds of the electorate, coupled with conservative support for Seguro, could indicate that even if Chega were to achieve a victory in future general elections, a possible centrist alliance would prevent him from governing.

From political retreat to the center of power

António José Seguro spent more than a decade out of the spotlight after holding high-level positions in Portuguese and European politics, including a seat on the European Parliament and a key role alongside then-prime minister António Guterres. In 2011, he assumed the leadership of the Socialist Party after the crisis surrounding José Sócrates, but his career stalled in 2014 when he lost internal control of the party to António Costa, who would later become prime minister and then president of the European Council. 

After years away from public life, Seguro returned last year with a presidential candidacy that ultimately solidified as a consensus option for the center-left. Although he ran as an independent, he received the backing of centrist and conservative figures once his second-round runoff against André Ventura was confirmed, as well as the support of thousands of signatories to a manifesto promoted by personalities who declared themselves "non-socialists."

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