He calls for unity against “those who sow hatred.”
The Socialist Party’s candidate for the presidency of Portugal, António José Seguro, celebrated this Sunday evening that “democracy has won” and “will win again on February 8,” expressing his optimism for the second round of the presidential elections after receiving the most votes in the first round, with 31.11% of the ballots, compared to 23.52% for the candidate of the far-right Chega party, André Ventura.
“I am free, I live without restrictions, and that is how I will act as president of the Republic. With our victory, democracy has won and will win again on February 8,” Seguro emphasized from his campaign headquarters at the Cultural Center of Caldas da Rainha, as reported by the state news agency Lusa, and in light of election results with nearly 99.8% of the votes counted, according to data published by the Ministry of Internal Administration.
Following this, and with his sights set on the decisive election date in three weeks, the Socialist Party candidate invited all “democrats, progressives, and humanists” to join his campaign so that, united in the second round, “extremism and those who sow hatred” will be defeated.
His remarks came after Ventura also celebrated that “the right has won today,” claiming that he “has a better chance of winning” in the second round after a first round in which the candidate of the Liberal Initiative, João Cotrim de Figueiredo (16.00%), the retired military officer and independent candidate Henrique Gouveia e Melo (12.32%), and the candidate of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD, conservative) Luís Marques Mendes (11.30%) were eliminated.
