Storm-battered Portugal heads to polls as rivals unite to keep out far right

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 4 min read 100% complete by Catarina Fernandes Martins in LisbonFebruary 7, 2026 at 07:00 AM

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Portugal is holding a presidential election runoff on Sunday, following a first round on January 18th where moderate leftist António José Seguro won 31.1% of the vote. He is being challenged by André Ventura, leader of the far-right Chega party, who garnered 23.5% in the initial vote. Several conservative figures have expressed support for Seguro to prevent a far-right presidency. Recent polls indicate Seguro is likely to win by a significant margin. However, analysts are closely watching Ventura's performance, as a strong showing could signal a shift in Portugal's political landscape and a potential consolidation of the right-wing electorate under Chega. The election has been overshadowed by recent deadly storms.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Católica University 30% Lisbon 35% Luis Marques Mendes 40% Liberal Initiative 40% João Cotrim de Figueiredo 50% Luís Montenegro ×260% Social Democratic Party (PSD) ×370% António José Seguro ×480% Chega ×385% André Ventura ×590% Portugal ×595%

Keywords

presidential election 100% far right 90% portugal 90% chega 80% andré ventura 80% political unity 70% antónio josé seguro 70% rightwing electorate 60% opinion polls 60% storms 50%

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Neutral

Score: -0.10

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The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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presidential election far right portugal chega andré ventura political unity antónio josé seguro rightwing electorate opinion polls storms

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