Socialists win surprise majority in Portugal elections
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Portugal's socialists won a parliamentary majority in the elections, meaning they will no longer need to negotiate to form a coalition.
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Antonio Costa has secured a new mandate with this win
Portugal's center-left Socialists have secured a parliamentary majority in Sunday's snap general elections, thus securing a new mandate for the current prime minister, Antonio Costa.
A surprising turnout, which was higher than expected considering the Coronavirus pandemic, helped secure the socialists' win. In his victory speech early on Monday, Costa said: “An absolute majority doesn’t mean absolute power. It doesn’t mean to govern alone. It’s an increased responsibility and it means to govern with and for all Portuguese.”
The Socialists were able to secure 117 seats from the 230 up for grabs in parliament, up from the 108 they had secured in the 2019 elections. Polls had been showing that Costa was unlikely to be granted a majority, and said he was prepared to strike alliances with other parties in order to secure this majority, but this is no longer necessary now.
The Portuguese Prime Minister has been serving since 2015. This election was triggered following the breaking down of an alliance between his party and the Communists and the Left Bloc. His success in the election is attributed to his successful efforts in ameliorating Portugal's post-crisis economy.
The Social Democrats came in second in these elections with below 30% of the votes, while the Socialists secured 42%.
