Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 8, 2026
1 min readLast updated: February 8, 2026
Antonio Jose Seguro wins Portugal's presidential runoff, defeating Andre Ventura with a significant lead, reflecting the growing influence of the far-right.
LISBON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Moderate Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro appeared to be headed for a landslide victory in Portugal's presidential runoff on Sunday, with two exit polls putting him in the 67%-73% range, well ahead of his far-right, anti-establishment rival Andre Ventura.
The exit polls conducted for television channels RTP, SIC and TVI/CNN placed Ventura at 27%-33%, still a better result than the 22.8% his anti-immigration Chega party achieved in last year's general election.
Last year, Chega became the second-largest parliamentary force, overtaking the Socialists and landing behind the centre-right ruling alliance, which garnered 31.2%.
Despite his loss on Sunday, 43-year-old Ventura, a charismatic former TV sports commentator, can now boast increased support, reflecting the growing influence of the far right in Portugal and much of Europe.
The presidency is a largely ceremonial role in Portugal but wields some key powers, including in some circumstances to dissolve parliament, to call a snap parliamentary election, and to veto legislation.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves, editing by Andrei Khalip)
The main topic is the victory of Antonio Jose Seguro in Portugal's presidential runoff against Andre Ventura.
Antonio Jose Seguro is a moderate Socialist who won Portugal's presidential runoff.
The presidency in Portugal is largely ceremonial but includes powers like dissolving parliament and vetoing legislation.
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