Portugal’s president was re-elected to a second term on Sunday, but the vote also confirms the rise of a far-right politician who formed his party less than two years ago.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the center-right president of Portugal, has reached a new five-year term after winning about 61 percent of the vote.
The election on Sunday took place in exceptional circumstances and came less than two weeks after the Portuguese government put the country back under lock-in orders as a new wave of coronavirus would overwhelm hospitals.
The Socialist candidate, Ana Gomes, won about 13 percent of the vote, just ahead of André Ventura, a far-right candidate who received nearly 12 percent of the vote.
The actions of mr. Ventura has made it clear that the far-right, ultranationalist leader has emerged as a force in Portugal. His anti-migration campaign and other demands largely reflect those of longtime far-right politicians such as Marine Le Pen of France.
Mr. Ventura, 38, a training lawyer who first gained notoriety as a football commentator, was the first lawmaker to win a seat in parliament for his newly formed party, Chega !, which means “enough”. Until that victory, in 2019, Portugal had long been singled out in Europe for not having a far-right presence in its legislature.
Late Sunday, Mr. Rebelo de Sousa paid tribute to the victims of the pandemic and thanked the voters for re-electing him. He admits that “this now renewed trust is anything but an empty check.”
Mr. Ventura celebrates ‘historic evening’ and brings the vote as a breakthrough for his party, which he described as ‘openly anti-system’.
Last year in Portugal, the Commission for Equality and Anti-Racial Discrimination Mr. Ventura fined for comments he posted on social media, especially against the Roma community. Mr. Ventura has campaigned for issues such as imposing stronger prison sentences for sex offenders and reducing the number and salaries of lawmakers, as part of its broader attack on the privileges enjoyed by the elite of Portugal.
Mr. Rebelo de Sousa (72) was a strong favorite to be re-elected president, a role in Portugal subordinate to that of the government, which runs the country daily and is led by Prime Minister António Costa, a Socialist.
However, the president is more than a ceremonial figure and has a role over foreign policy and national security as commander of the military, as well as the power to dissolve parliament and veto legislation.
In the coming days, Mr. Rebelo de Sousa must decide whether to approve or block a recent law passed by lawmakers that allows euthanasia and suicide to be allowed by the doctor; the Catholic Church opposed it. The president can also request a review of the law by the Portuguese constitutional court.
Turnout on Sunday, according to preliminary results, was about 39 percent, a sign that many registered voters stayed at home amid concerns about the new wave of coronavirus. Inclusion requires residents to stay indoors, except for special reasons.
Last week, the government also decided to close schools and universities, in addition to closing non-essential stores that already apply.
After a visit to a hospital last week, Mr. Rebelo de Sousa warns that the increase in infections is creating a huge pressure on healthcare structures that we did not see in March. “This,” he warned, could lead to a much longer closure than the one-month period initially set by the government.