Center-Left Candidate Wins Portuguese Presidential Election by Wide Margin

Lisbon. Center-left Socialist Party candidate Antonio J s ose Seguro has won the second round of the presidential election in Portugal by a large margin. According to the results of the voting held on Sunday, Seguro has secured the presidency for five years by defeating his far-right and anti-establishment rival, Andr e Ventura, by a wide margin.

With 95 percent of the votes counted, 63-year-old Seguro received 66 percent of the votes, while Ventura was limited to 34 percent. Despite the defeat, Ventura's result is a significant improvement compared to the 22.8 percent his party, 'Chega', received in last year's general election. Ventura is the first far-right candidate to reach a run-off in Portuguese history.

There was significant voter turnout despite bad weather and floods. Although voting was postponed in some areas of southern and central Portugal due to floods, election officials stated that it would not affect the overall result. Officials had rejected Ventura's demand to postpone the election, citing the floods.

Seguro was also supported by many conservative leaders after the first round of the election. He presented himself as a 'modern and centrist' leftist and pledged to defend democratic values.

Although the post of President in Portugal is ceremonial, the President holds significant powers, such as dissolving parliament and calling elections in special circumstances. The newly elected President Seguro will replace the current President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in March.