Overview
- Eleven candidates are on the ballot Sunday, with four to five clustered near the top and a February 8 runoff expected if no one wins an outright majority.
- Recent surveys place André Ventura around 24 percent and Socialist António José Seguro near 23 percent, with Luís Marques Mendes gaining and Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo slipping from early frontrunner status.
- Ventura, the founder of Chega, has campaigned on nationalist and anti-immigrant themes, and election authorities ordered the removal of a poster targeting the Roma community.
- Polling indicates Ventura is the candidate most respondents refuse to support, a factor that could shape the likely second-round matchup.
- Portugal’s presidency wields significant powers, including command of the armed forces, the ability to dissolve parliament and call elections, and the authority to refer laws to the Constitutional Court.