Despite the omens of significant abstention owing to the coronavirus, the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Administration reported that participation in the early elections reached 23.27 percent till 12:00, which is higher than the 2019 figure.
According to the Ministry report, 2.5 million electors have voted as of noon, accounting for 23.27 percent of the total 10,820,337 voters enrolled in the census. The turnout for the most recent elections, held on October 6, 2019, was 18.83 percent at noon.
The importance of this figure has been emphasised by the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who stated that “voting is a test of life and democracy.” In the village of Celorico de Basto, in the north of the country, Rebelo de Sousa voted.
“Today is a really lovely day. As a result, there is no reason not to vote “After stressing the large turnout, he argued. “It’s excellent. If things keep going like this. There are still people who are isolated, and there are a lot of them “He made the point.
Infected or isolated voters will be able to vote between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., when the majority of the populace has already cast their ballots. It is a preferred, but not exclusive, timetable for isolated people.
“I’m hoping that I’ll be able to use that right. There is a security mechanism in place that allows people to attend without causing harm to others, which reduces abstention and increases participation “He made the point.
Rebelo de Sousa refused to speculate when asked about his plan to dissolve Parliament. “It’s finished. It’s finished. We must now turn our attention to the future “he stated
The 315,785 voters who have already exercised their right to vote in advance, according to statistics given to the Electoral Administration by the 308 municipalities, must be added to the participation count.
Portugal elects a new National Assembly on Sunday in an election called by the Costa government in response to the Chamber’s rejection of its budget proposal.
According to polls, the outcome will be relatively similar to the current one, with the Socialist Party (PS) in the lead but without the necessary majority to govern alone.