LISBON: Portugal’s centre-right President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won a second term on Sunday, exit polls showed, in an election marked by strict health and safety rules as the country battles a crippling third wave of coronavirus contagion.
Polls by leading TV stations TVI , RTP and SIC gave 72-year-old Rebelo de Sousa, a former TV commentator known for his warm persona and habit of taking selfies with supporters, 56-62% of the vote, above his 52% win in 2016.
Left-wing candidate Ana Gomes and far-right lawmaker Andre Ventura were vying for a distant second, with polls giving Gomes 13-17% of the vote and Ventura, whose Chega party garnered just 1.3% of the vote in a 2019 parliamentary election, 9-14%.
The President holds a largely ceremonial role but can veto certain laws and decree states of emergency, a power Rebelo de Sousa deployed often during the pandemic, following the parliament’s lead.
The Portuguese voted masked, socially distanced and each using their own pen as…