Exit polls suggest good night for Socialist Party in Portuguese local elections

LISBON (Xinhua) - The Portuguese voted in local elections on Sunday with initial calculations suggesting it will be a good night for the governing Socialists. 

Exit polls announced by a number of local television channels suggest the Socialist Party (PS) will win an outright majority in the race for the Lisbon town hall, with incumbent Fernando Medina continuing as mayor. 

The same polls have Assuncao Cristas, of the Central Social Democratic-Popular Party (CDS-PP) alliance, beating the Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate, Teresa Leal Coelho, to the runner-up spot. This would be a huge boon to the CDS-PP, Cristas having recently become party leader. 

In Porto, projections have independent Rui Moreira coming out on top, with the PS candidate Manuel Pizarro second and the PSD's Alvaro Almeida third. 

This would mean the PSD, the main opposition party and, until November 2015, the party of government, reduced to being the third force in Portugal's two major cities. It looks set to be a night of soul-searching for the PSD and its leader, Pedro Passos Coelho. 

Turnout looks to be up on that registered at the 2013 local elections.