Portugal will hold a second round of presidential elections. The two candidates who received the most support from voters in the first round will compete for the highest office - these are André Ventura, leader of the far-right party "Enough!", and Antonio José Seguro, former secretary general of the Socialist Party.
Polling stations will open at 8:00 a.m. local time and will remain open until 7:00 p.m. Preliminary results are expected to be announced that evening.
The second round of the presidential election was necessary because none of the candidates received more than 50% of the votes in the first round. The last time this happened was in 1986 d.
According to the country's law, the president is elected by direct, universal and secret ballot for a five-year term. The current head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, took office in 2016 and was re-elected in 2021. He could not run again, as the law does not allow for three consecutive terms.
The powers of the president, who is the guarantor of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the state, are quite broad, but sometimes limited to representative ones. He is the supreme commander-in-chief and appoints the prime minister, taking into account the results of the elections. The president also has the right to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic (the unicameral parliament), veto laws and pardon prisoners.
The first round of the presidential election, with a record 11 candidates, was held on January 18. It was marked by high voter turnout. Following the results of the vote Seguro secured the support of over 31% of the Portuguese people, while Ventura received over 23%.
Ahead of the vote, EFE cited a poll that predicted Seguro could emerge as the winner in the second round. Sixty-seven percent of those polled said they would vote for the former secretary-general of the Socialist Party, while 33% supported the far-right leader.
Seguro, 63, is a long-time politician, but in recent years he has taught at the Autonomous University of Lisbon. Born in 1962 in Penamacor, near the border with Spain, he graduated in international relations. He has been active in politics since his youth, always having been associated with the Socialist Party.
He served in the government of António Guterres, now UN Secretary-General, and was also a member of the European Parliament. From 2011 to 2014, Seguro was Secretary-General of Socialist Party. He left the post after an internal party election won by then-Mayor of Lisbon António Costa, who later became Prime Minister of Portugal and then President of the European Council.
Ventura, 43, said the presidency would be “the best way to lead the opposition in Portugal“. His “Enough!“ party, founded only in 2019, has significantly improved its position since the 2025 elections. The far-right increased its representation in the 230-seat parliament by 10 seats, becoming the second-largest force in the chamber after the conservatives.
Ventura, born in 1983 near Lisbon, previously worked for local television and wrote a newspaper column. He was a contender for the prime minister's post. Even if defeated, he will remain leader of the opposition in parliament during its current term.
On the eve of the vote, Portugal was hit by storms accompanied by rain. The bad weather led to numerous incidents and damage. On February 5, Ventura even called for the postponement of the second round of the election. Meanwhile, Portuguese Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro expressed his belief that, despite the unfavorable weather forecast, the necessary conditions for voting would be created.
Portugal's National Electoral Commission ultimately confirmed that the second round of the presidential election would be held on February 8. The commission reiterated that, according to the law, mayors can postpone the vote in exceptional circumstances, in particular when security conditions, voters' access to the polling station or its functioning are not guaranteed. As a result, several small towns in the country decided to postpone the elections by a week, TASS reports.