A Socialist has captured Portugal’s presidency for the first time in more than two decades, with António José Seguro sweeping to victory over hard‑right challenger André Ventura in Sunday’s runoff election.
Seguro, a 63-year-old veteran of the center-left Socialist Party, secured roughly two-thirds of the vote, taking about 66–67 percent against Ventura’s 33–34 percent, according to near-complete official results. It is the first time since the early 2000s that a candidate from the socialist camp will occupy the largely ceremonial presidency, ending a long stretch of conservative and center-right heads of state in Lisbon.
The landslide was made possible in large part by center-right voters who, faced with a stark choice between a moderate socialist and a far-right, anti‑immigration firebrand, swung behind Seguro in the second round. After finishing first but far short of a majority in the opening ballot three weeks ago, he spent the runoff campaigning as a unifying, institutional figure and openly courting conservative and liberal supporters alarmed by Ventura’s rhetoric.
Ventura, leader of the nationalist Chega (“Enough”) party, ran on a hard line against mass immigration and the political establishment, transforming the race into a test of how far Europe’s populist right could advance in Portugal. While he ultimately fell well short of the presidency, his 30‑plus percent share of the vote marks the strongest result for the far right in the country’s modern democratic history and confirms Chega as a major force on the Portuguese right.
In his victory address in Lisbon, Seguro pledged “loyalty and institutional cooperation” with the existing center-right minority government and promised to be a demanding but not obstructive head of state. European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, quickly hailed his win as a sign that Portugal remains committed to democratic and pro‑EU values at a time of rising nationalist sentiment across the continent.
