Center-right candidate favored for Portugal’s next president

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal’s presidential candidate, attends an election campaign event in Lourinha, Portugal, January 14, 2016.

While the post of president is mainly ceremonial, the head of state can dissolve parliament in a crisis.

The voters could also cast their ballots in support of independent candidates, who are not backed by any party, such as former SP members Henrique Neto and Candido Ferreira, anti-corruption activist Paulo de Morais, psychologist Jorge Sequeira or participant of several reality shows Vitorino Silva. On taking over, Costa promised to implement a moderate programme that upholds European Union budget commitments.

The most recent poll was published Friday in newspaper Publico and suggested Rebelo de Sousa will collect 52 percent of the vote.

An alliance of anti-austerity parties is in charge in Portugal after a parliamentary election three months ago produced a Socialist minority government supported by the Communist Party and radical Left Bloc.

The 67-year-old Rebelo de Sousa, a law professor graduated from Law School of Lisbon University, is a popular TV commentator and former secretary-general of PSD.

“So, without any reservation, I take this public position for the first time: I vote Marcelo and I do so because I am convinced he is the right choice for us”. “But the voters will have to mobilize for him to be elected in the first round”, political analyst Jose Antonio Passos Palmeira told AFP news agency. They are expected to get some 17 and 12 percent of voters’ support respectively.

The voting started at 8 am local and to end at 7 pm and the turned out rate in the election is expected to be low.

Rather than choose De Novoa, the Socialist Party chose as its official candidate former health minister Maria de Belem Roseira, who is on course for between an 8 and 13 percent vote share.