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.
Spain imposes ban on ships carrying arms for Israel
Anti-Islam Wilders's coalition deal spells sharp shift to hard-right
EU broadens sanctions to cover Iran’s missile program
VIDEO | Mass pro-Gaza rally in Istanbul
VIDEO | Book about Palestinian liberation struggle unveiled in Vienna
VIDEO | London remembers 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestinians
Netanyahu prefers own interests to Israeli forces’ lives: Hamas
800k Palestinians forced to flee Rafah amid Israel invasion: UNRWA
VIDEO | Spain must break relations with Israel, protesters chant in Madrid
VIDEO | Israeli divisions over Gaza
UN chief renews call for two-state solution, calls Gaza war ‘open wound’
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
