International media focused on the surprise outcome of Portugal’s presidential first round, highlighting a runoff between socialist António José Seguro and far-right leader André Ventura. Coverage emphasised Seguro’s unexpected advance ‘against all predictions’, the growing prominence of the far right in Portuguese politics, and the wider implications for national policy and the upcoming campaign ahead of the decisive second round.
International media highlights presidential election results
Monday, 19 January 2026RSS
AI Summary AvailableInternational media highlights presidential election resultsRead the synthesized summary with context and explainers
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Other news coverage of this topic
- 'Surprise' Seguro, 'extraordinary' Chega and a 'hard blow' for Montenegro — elections viewed from abroad9:18am, 19 Jan 2026 • ECO
- Press review: The presidential elections seen abroad8:58am, 19 Jan 2026 • Dinheiro Vivo
- Foreign press focuses on Portugal’s socialist v far-right runoff8:53am, 19 Jan 2026 • Portugal Resident
Context & Explainers
Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.
The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.
