Portugal: Democratic Alliance leader claims victory in the snap elections
On 10 March, Luis Montenegro, leader of Portugal’s center-right Democratic Alliance (DA) emerged as winner in the parliamentary elections. The centre-left Socialist Party (PS) which has administered since 2015 slipped down to defeat. Whereas support to the far-right party Chega (Enough) increased. Chega’s leader Andre Ventura stated that his party was “available to build a government.” However, Montenegro vowed to not alliance with right-wing populists or rely for any deals. The complete polls result yet to be revealed, DA is expected to win between 83 and 91, PS to secure between 69 and 77 seats and Chega to have increased from 12 to 40 and 46 seats out of 230 in total. DA and PS can be expected to form coalition combined with few smaller parties but might be a challenge with Chega’s increased popularity. The increase in support for Chega was due to its two key pledges of addressing excess migration and government corruption. This deemed timely as former Socialist prime minister resigned under corruption allegations over investment projects resulting in snap elections. (“Portugal election: Democratic Alliance claim victory,” Deutsche Welle, 10 March 2024)

What happened in the elections?
The voter turnout was the highest in last three decades resulting in a clear center-right win. Although the difference between the AD and PS was 2,058 votes, the far-right Chega Party’s performance topped with increase to 18 per cent. Former party, the Socialists which has governed since 2015 leader stated that the chances of Center-right forming coalition with Chega is more possible although it vows to form a minority government with support from conservatives placed in fourth.

What led to the snap elections?
António Costa, Former Prime Minister resigned following a corruption scandal in November 2023. Although he was not directly accused of corruption, the infrastructure minister engagement involvement in corruption linked to lithium exploration schemes and green hydrogen mega-project. This was revealed with Portugal police raid in government residence and ministerial buildings. Following the resignation, the president called for new set of elections to elect new prime minister.

References
Aitor Hernández-Morales, “Portuguese PM António Costa resigns amid corruption probe,” Politico, 07 November 2023
“Portugal election: Democratic Alliance claim victory,” Deutsche Welle, 10 March 2024
Anthony Faiola and Catarina Fernandes Martins, “Socialists conceding in Portuguese election seen as bellwether for Europe,” The Washington Post, 11 March 2024