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Portuguese voters will elect their MPs for the third time since 2022, in elections that could allow outgoing Prime Minister Luis Montenegro to increase his moderate right-wing majority after a year in power. Polls open at 8:00 a.m. (local time) and close at 8:00 p.m. (local time).
Montenegro, a 52-year-old lawyer, was the central figure of the election campaign, after leading the country towards early elections with his resignation in March amid allegations of conflict of interest in a case related to the activities of his consulting firm.
"Nobody has been more transparent than me," he said at the latest rally, responding to Socialist opposition leader Pedro Nuno Santos, who accused him of "mixing politics with business" by taking money from private companies after taking office.
What do the polls show?
However, public opinion polls show that "Portuguese voters show some tolerance for this type of issue and that it clearly did not take on the proportions that the opposition had hoped for," noted political scientist Filipa Raimundo, from the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE).
The ruling moderate-right coalition, the Democratic Alliance (AD), has 34% of the vote, compared to 26% for the Socialist Party (SP), according to the latest poll published by local media.
The far-right Chega party (Chega, "Enough") is likely to receive 19% of the vote, improving its performance compared to the March 2024 elections, and thus consolidating its position as the third political force in the country.
According to the same poll, Luis Montenegro is expected to secure up to 95 seats out of 230 in Parliament, thus falling below the threshold of 116 deputies, which is equivalent to an absolute majority.
While he refuses to govern with the support of the far right, Montenegro hopes to form a stronger majority by reaching an agreement with the Liberal Initiative party, which has a 7% turnout in opinion polls.
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