Tight race sees no clear winner as populists surge

Portugal’s political future is hanging in the balance after a general election Sunday, with two moderate mainstream parties closely contesting the race and set to wait weeks for a decision on the winner after an unprecedented surge in support for a populist party.

The centre-right Social Democrat-led Democratic Alliance won 77 seats in the 230-seat National Assembly, Portugal’s Parliament, after all votes cast in Portugal were counted.

The centre-left Socialist Party, in power the past eight years, got 76 seats.

The deciding votes will come from voters abroad to decide four parliamentary seats after an election night full of suspense.

That count could take more than two weeks.

The hard-right Chega (Enough) party captured 48 seats in a milestone result that presented an unprecedented challenge to politics-as-usual, underscoring a drift to the right in the European Union.

The Social Democrats and Socialists have alternated in power for decades, but they have never come up against such a strong challenge from a hard-right party.

Social Democrat leader Luis Montenegro, who likely would become prime minister if his alliance wins, ruled out during campaigning the possibility of teaming up with Chega, some of whose policy proposals are unpalatable for many Portuguese.

But if Montenegro is unable to assemble a majority government, his hand could be forced, leaving Chega as a kingmaker.

Chega leader Andre Ventura, a former law professor and television soccer pundit, has said he is prepared to drop some of his party’s most controversial proposals — such as chemical castration for some sex offenders and the introduction of life prison sentences — if that enables his party’s inclusion in a possible governing alliance with other right-of-centre parties.

His insistence on national sovereignty instead of closer European Union integration and his plan to grant police the right to strike are other issues that could thwart his ambitions to enter a government coalition, however.

The centre-right Democratic Alliance won 77 seats in Portugal’s 230-seat parliament, while the centre-left Socialist Party got 76 seats