Portugal holds presidential election

23/1/2021 19:40

        Portuguese voters - largely
        confined to their homes due to a strict COVID-19 lockdown - will
        pick a new president on Sunday, but many fear going to the polls
        could worsen a surge in coronavirus cases and low turnout is
        expected.
        
        The country of 10 million people, which fared better than
        others in the first wave of the pandemic, now has the world's
        highest seven-day rolling average of new cases and deaths per
        million people.
        
        "It wouldn't have been a problem to wait another month.
        Exceptional times call for exceptional measures," said Lisbon
        resident Miguel Goncalves, 55.
        Almost two-thirds of voters think the election should be
        postponed, a poll by research institute ISC/ISCTE showed last
        week.
        
        Delaying the ballot would have required changing the
        country's constitution - something officials said was not
        possible at such short notice, but there has been widespread
        criticism of the decision to press ahead with the vote for the
        largely ceremonial president.
        
        "They should have spread voting over more days," political
        scientist Joao Cancela of IPRE-NOVA University said. "It's a
        mistake to think the only options were to delay or keep as is."
        
        Voting is the only reason people are permitted to leave home
        for anything other than essential work or trips under the
        current nationwide lockdown rules.
        
        Pollsters expect record-high abstentions, even as voluntary
        teams clad in protective gear collected ballots at the doorstep
        of some 13,000 quarantined voters, and about 250,000 people
        registered for early voting to avoid crowds.
        
        "We're now facing a double-edged risk - high abstentions,
        and the fact that those who do turn out will be outside their
        homes," opposition leader Rui Rio said.
        
        Opinion polls show that the incumbent, President Marcelo
        Rebelo de Sousa of the centre-right Social Democratic Party, is
        likely to easily win re-election, with left-wing candidate Ana
        Gomes forecast in second at 13.5-14.5% and the leader of
        far-right party Chega Andre Ventura close behind at 10-12.5%.
        
        Despite their mainly ceremonial role, presidents can veto
        certain laws and decree states of emergency.