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Portugal centre-right wins re-election despite bailout | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Portugal's governing centre-right coalition has won the country's general election, which was widely seen as a referendum on four years of austerity. | Portugal's governing centre-right coalition has won the country's general election, which was widely seen as a referendum on four years of austerity. |
Socialist leader Antonio Costa admitted defeat and congratulated Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. | Socialist leader Antonio Costa admitted defeat and congratulated Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. |
With almost all votes counted, the centre-right leads with just under 37%, with the Socialists on over 32%. | |
However, Mr Passos Coelho said his coalition appeared to have lost its absolute majority in parliament. | |
With 99 seats in the 230-seat parliament, the ruling coalition fell 17 seats short of the number it needed. | |
Mr Passos Coelho indicated that he was ready to talk to other parties in the next parliament to pursue the "necessary reforms" he wants to implement. | |
"Times haven't been easy, and the times ahead will be challenging," he said, promising to talk to the Socialists with the aim of maintaining a rigorous budget and a reduction in the public debt. | |
Parties to the left of the Socialists achieved their best-ever result, says the BBC's Alison Roberts in Lisbon. | |
Left Bloc won 10% of the vote, securing 19 seats, while the Communists took 8% of the vote. | |
Four years of austerity have taken their toll, and the coalition lost almost one-third of the votes that its two constituent parties gleaned in the last general election, our correspondent adds. | |
The coalition had vowed to continue the policies in place since 2011 after it was forced to seek a eurozone bailout. | |
Unemployment has been falling for two-and-a-half years, but many regard the recovery as fragile. | Unemployment has been falling for two-and-a-half years, but many regard the recovery as fragile. |