Madrid, 9 February 2026 (dpa/MIA) – Centre-left candidate António José Seguro has won Portugal's presidential election on Sunday by a landslide, defeating right-wing populist opponent André Ventura.

Seguro, from the Socialist Party (PS), secured about 66.8% of the vote, state broadcaster RTP reported with most of the votes counted.

Ventura conceded defeat, while Seguro promised to serve Portugal's nearly 10.5 million inhabitants.

"The Portuguese people are the best people in the world. Excellent," Seguro told journalists in an early reaction to the results. "With an enormous sense of civic responsibility and a commitment to the values of our democracy."

"The winners this evening are the Portuguese people and democracy," the pro-European politician added in front of cheering supporters.

Conservative Prime Minister Luís Montenegro congratulated Seguro on his election victory and expressed confidence that he would work well with the next president.

French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also congratulated the election winner.

Ventura conceded defeat: "He won. I wish him an excellent term in office," he said of Seguro.

Around 11 million eligible voters were called to cast their ballots in the race to succeed conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa after two terms in office.

The Portuguese presidency holds significant power, including the right to veto legislation, dissolve parliament and call early elections.

Populist Chega trending up

In the first round of voting three weeks ago, Seguro received the most votes with 31%, but fell far short of the absolute majority needed to win.

Ventura, from the populist Chega, came second with 23.5% in a result that demonstrated the anti-immigrant party's surge since its founding six years ago.

"We have killed the two-party system that has been in place for 50 years" and will soon form the government, jubilantly declared the law professor, author and former sports commentator, who is referred to by the media as "Hurricane" and has been accused of inciting hatred against minorities.

A lower turnout was expected in the run-off due to the spate of severe storms that hit Portugal and parts of Spain in recent days.

Ventura had demanded that the vote be postponed due to the adverse weather conditions. In the end, the election proceeded with little disruption, with only three municipalities making use of the option to postpone the vote by a week due to flooding or blocked roads.

The winner is expected to take office on March 9, succeeding Rebelo de Sousa, who has led the south-western European country since 2016.

Photo: EPA