Portuguese casting votes in parliamentary polls
People in Portugal have started voting in parliamentary elections, which are widely considered as a referendum on four years of austerity measures adopted by the ruling center-right coalition government.
Polling stations opened at 08:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Sunday, with the first results expected some 12 hours later.
Around 9.7 million people are eligible to elect the representatives to the 230-seat parliament of the south European country.
Latest surveys gave Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho’s ruling “Portugal Ahead” coalition, consisting of his Social Democratic Party and the conservative Popular Party, a lead over the center-left Socialist Party, led by Antonio Costa.
The surveys showed the ruling coalition had 37.5 percent support compared to 32.5 percent for the Socialist Party. The figures, however, indicated that none of the two sides is likely to win the 116 needed for an absolute majority in the parliament.
The governing coalition has pledged to continue spending cuts as well as market reforms in place since 2011, but the Socialists and other left-wing groups have vowed to reverse the austerity drive.
Portugal’s President Anibal Cavaco Silva has called for a high turnout in Sunday’s elections, saying the country is facing a crucial moment.
When Coelho came to power in June 2011, Portugal was on the brink of defaulting on its debt, while his Socialist predecessor, Jose Socrates, had asked for a 78 billion euro (USD 88 billion) bailout from the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, Portugal exited the bailout scheme in May 2014 due to harsh austerity measures and increased taxes, returning to growth after three years of recession.
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