Democratic Alliance Gains Early Lead in Portugal Election

Portugal's centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) is leading in the country's parliamentary elections with more than 38% of the vote. Early results may vary since larger cities' votes are counted later. The AD previously won in 2024 with 29% but failed to sustain a majority government.

Portugal's ruling centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) has taken an early lead in Sunday's parliamentary election, securing over 38% of the vote, according to official electoral data with more than 10% of ballots counted.

Historically, early tallies can be misleading as they often reflect results from smaller municipalities, while votes from larger cities like Lisbon and Porto are counted later in the process. In the last election held in March 2024, the AD won with approximately 29% of the vote, resulting in a minority government that collapsed a year later.

To achieve an outright majority, a party must secure at least 42% of the total votes. Currently, the Socialist party trails with just over 23% of the vote, nearly neck and neck with the far-right Chega at 22.7%, a party with which AD leader Luis Montenegro refuses to form alliances. Meanwhile, the business-friendly Liberal Initiative (IL), considered by some analysts as a potential AD coalition partner, stands at a modest 3.1%.