Portugal's center-right Democratic Alliance party won the country's third general election in three years on Sunday, but fell short of a majority as support for the far-right Chega party surged.
The result threatens to widen political instability in the NATO and European Union member state as the bloc grapples with rising global trade tensions and works to strengthen its defenses.
Almost complete official results showed that AD led by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro received 32.7% of the vote, with the center-left Socialist Party and Chega practically tied in second place.
The victory means AD will have 89 seats in the 230-seat parliament, short of the 116 seats needed for a governing majority. Despite this, Mr Montenegro said he had received a clear mandate from the Portuguese to govern.
"The Portuguese don't want any more snap elections, they want a four-year legislature," he said, as his supporters chanted his campaign slogan: "Let Luis work."
Following their worst result in decades, Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos announced he was resigning after the party received only 23.4% of the vote. The party will soon hold internal elections to elect a new leader.
Chega (Enough) came in behind them with 22.6% of the vote, which would give each party 58 seats in Parliament.
However, even with the support of the new business-friendly party, the Liberal Initiative, which won nine seats, AD still needs Chega’s support to achieve a majority to pass legislation. Montenegro has rejected any alliance with Chega, saying it is “unreliable” and “unsuitable for governance.”
Far-right boost
Support for Chega has grown in every general election since the party was founded in 2019 by Andre Ventura, a former priest-in-training who later became a television football commentator.
It won 1.3% of the vote in the 2019 general election, the year it was founded, giving it one seat in Parliament - the first time a far-right party had won representation in Portugal's Parliament since a 1974 coup that toppled a right-wing dictatorship.
Chega became the third largest force in Parliament in the next general election in 2022 and quadrupled its parliamentary seats last year to 50, cementing its place in Portugal's political landscape.
Like other far-right parties that have gained ground across Europe, Chega has exploited hostility to immigration and concerns about crime.
There are still four seats left to be determined representing Portuguese living abroad, but these results will not be known for days.
Sunday's election was held after Montenegro lost a parliamentary confidence vote in March after less than a year in power. He called the vote after allegations of conflicts of interest related to his family's consulting business, which has several clients with government contracts.
Montenegro denied any wrongdoing, saying he was not involved in the firm's day-to-day operations.
AD formed a minority government after the last elections. It approved a budget that increased pensions and public sector wages, as well as reduced income taxes for young people, because the Socialist Party abstained in key votes in Parliament.
The leader of the Socialist Party, Nuno Santos, had accused Montenegro of manipulating the elections "to avoid explanations" about the firm's activities before a parliamentary investigation. (A2 Televizion)
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