The Portuguese are called to the polls on Sunday to vote in the snap parliamentary elections, in which they do not appear to have a clear winner and amid a climate of heightened uncertainty from a potentially low turnout amid a record Covid-19 infection.
The government allowed those infected with coronavirus to quarantine and vote in person, recommending that they do so at the last minute before the polls close at 19:00 in the afternoon (21:00 Cyprus time) and promising “absolute security” during the vote.
More than one tenth of the country's 10 million inhabitants are estimated to be in quarantine due to COVID-19. As in many European countries, the number of infections has skyrocketed, to a pandemic wave fueled by the Omicron variant, although widespread population vaccination has kept death and morbidity rates lower than in previous waves. The election battle is expected to be a one-on-one and in terms of parliamentary seats, as each of the two parties can claim the election victory, according to opinion polls.
A longtime favorite in the election, outgoing Prime Minister Antonio Costa's Socialists are a short-lived leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party, according to two opinion polls released on Friday.
According to a poll in the weekly Expresso, the Socialist Party (PS), which has been in power since 2015, secured 35% of the vote, compared to 33% for the Social Democratic Party (PSD) of former Porto mayor Rui Rio. According to a poll by the Publico newspaper, the PS can secure 36%, compared to 33% of the PSD. To the extent that the difference remains within the limits of statistical error, the two newspapers describe the situation as a “technical tie”.
Low turnout could make forecasts unreliable, analysts say. Early elections, called in November after Parliament voted against the minority Socialist Government's budget bill, are likely to prolong and deepen political instability and create a short-lived government unless one of the main parties manages to sustainable government alliance, a task that seems extremely difficult.
Instability could complicate Portugal's access to the EU's € 16.6 billion pandemic recovery fund, and the successful use of funds for projects aimed at boosting economic growth in the western poorest country. Of Europe.
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