Portuguese vote for president in historic 2nd round

After a campaign affected by floods, the polls opened for 11 million voters. Socialist António José Seguro is favorite against ultra-right leader André Ventura

Portuguese voters began voting this Sunday (02/08) to decide, in a second round unprecedented in the last four decades, who will be the next president of the republic.

The dispute pits the moderate socialist António José Seguro, the big favorite, against the ultra-right leader André Ventura. The winner will succeed the current center-right president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who, after two terms, cannot seek re-election.

The polls opened at 8am for around 11 million voters, including the community abroad, and will close at 7pm (Lisbon time), with the first exit polls scheduled for an hour later. The vote comes after a campaign marked by the severe storms and floods that have affected the country in the last two weeks.

Favoritism

Preliminary polls point to a comfortable victory for António José Seguro, from the Socialist Party (PS), who led the first round on January 18 with 31% of the votes. He is competing for the position with André Ventura, leader of the Chega party – currently the largest opposition force in Parliament –, which obtained 23.5% in the first round.

This is only the second presidential runoff in Portugal since the end of the dictatorship in 1974 – the previous one took place in 1986. The scenario reflects the country’s growing political fragmentation, with the rise of the ultra-right and discontent with traditional parties.

Although the presidential office in Portugal has a mostly ceremonial character, the president holds important powers, such as dissolving Parliament, calling early elections and vetoing laws.

Impact of bad weather on voting

The strong storms that hit Portugal, including the passage of Storm Marta – which left a firefighter dead on Saturday – forced 36,852 voters to postpone voting. The election was rescheduled for February 15 in several locations, such as Alcácer do Sal, Arruda dos Vinhos and Golegã, in addition to some polling stations in municipalities such as Santarém, Leiria and Salvaterra de Magos.

This Sunday, a partial improvement in the weather is expected, although the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) predicts rain from the afternoon onwards, snow in high regions and strong winds on the coast.

Electoral process proceeds normally

According to Jornal de Notícias, the election is proceeding normally in the morning, “with no reports of problems” in addition to the postponements already determined. To date, no significant outages or boycotts have been recorded.

The last change occurred on Saturday night, when the Municipal Council of Salvaterra de Magos decided to postpone the vote in its parish due to the isolation of the village of Escaroupim, caused by the floods of the Tagus River.

The electoral campaign was profoundly impacted by the bad weather, which since January 28 has caused seven direct deaths and another six indirect deaths – of people who fell from roofs during repairs.

With information from DW on 02/08/2026