The center-right Democratic Alliance narrowly leads the Socialist Party before the counting of votes from abroad.
Portugal’s political future is up in the air after Sunday’s legislative elections.
The center-right Democratic Alliance, led by the Social Democrats, won 79 seats in the National Assembly, the Portuguese Parliament, which has 230, after counting all the votes cast in Portugal.
The center-left Socialist Party, in power for eight years, obtained 77 seats.
The decisive votes will come from voters abroad to distribute the last four parliamentary seats after a suspenseful election night. This count could take more than two weeks.
The far-right Chega party came in third with 48 seats, a landmark result that represents an unprecedented challenge for Portuguese politics.
“One thing is certain tonight, the two-party system in Portugal is over”said Chega leader Andre Ventura.
He insisted that the Social Democrats should join forces with Chega in Parliament to create a majority. “We have a mandate to govern”did he declare.
However, Social Democrats leader Luis Montenegro, who would likely become prime minister if his alliance wins, said he would keep his campaign promise to exclude Chega and refuse to negotiate power-sharing with the populists. He declared that he intended to form a government alone.
