Portugal election: Campaigning gets underway amid Covid-19 surge

 

Portugal gears up for election amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The election is scheduled for January 30. The official two-week campaigning period for Portugal’s general election started on Sunday.

Reportedly, the government is still waiting on a decision from the attorney general on whether voters who are in isolation or quarantine will be allowed to vote or not.  The authorities are searching for ways of holding the election amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Reportedly, 89 per cent of Portugal's population of 10.3 million people is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Despite the successful vaccination campaign in the country, covid-19 cases increased rapidly in recent weeks. Reportedly, new daily Covid-19 cases have set records of around 40,000 in recent weeks. The authorities are worried as the election is around the corner.

The ballot comes two years ahead of schedule because the parliament in November rejected António Costa’s government 2022 state budget. Reportedly, the country's president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, called it a snap election.

The upcoming election will elect 230 lawmakers to the Assembly of the Republic, Portugal’s parliament. Subsequently, lawmakers will vote on who forms a government. The country uses a constituency system to form the government. Portuguese MPs are constitutionally obliged to represent the interests of the whole country rather than their constituents. Portugal, a semi-presidential system, directly elects the President alongside its Prime Minister and their cabinet.

The centre-left Socialist Party has governed Portugal since 2015 under prime minister António Costa. Reportedly, recent opinion polls indicate that the party will collect the most votes in the upcoming election

According to Euro News, the Socialists might fall short of an overall majority. The party once again has to seek support from its left-of-center allies, the Left Bloc and the Portuguese Communist Party, to pass legislation in parliament..