On an election night that had promised to be unpredictable, António José Seguro won more than 31 per cent of the vote and secured a place in the second round, where he will be joined by André Ventura, who captured 23.5 per cent of voters. At the end of the night, the Socialist-backed candidate stressed his independence and vowed to be “the president of a new era”. The leader of Chega, meanwhile, declared himself leader of the right in response to the results.
Second round set. Seguro wants to be president of a new era and Ventura declares himself leader of the right
Monday, 19 January 2026RSS
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Other news coverage of this topic
- A President for Immigration12:30am, 19 Jan 2026 • Correio da Manhã
- Seguro and Ventura advance to the second round in the most hotly contested presidential election in decades1:12am, 19 Jan 2026 • Dinheiro Vivo
- Ventura already seeks to unite the right to win Belém1:46am, 19 Jan 2026 • Observador
- Populist and far-right leaders congratulate Ventura on advancing to the run-off12:44am, 19 Jan 2026 • Correio da Manhã
- Seguro now has one task: halt Ventura's rise10:37pm, 18 Jan 2026 • Expresso
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.
