Antonio José Seguro won a landslide victory in the second round Portuguese presidential elections, fending off the challenge from André Ventura’s far-right party Chega.
In his first speech as president-elect on Sunday, February 8, Seguro called the result a “victory for democracy” as he promised to be president for “all Portuguese people.”
Despite his rival’s convincing success, Ventura remained optimistic at the result of his party garnering 33.2% of votes. This is a far greater success for Ventura’s party than its 2025 general election result of 22.8%, leading him to claim that “the Portuguese people have put me on the path to governing this country”.
Portugal has not been led by a right-wing nationalist since the end of António de Oliveira Salazar’s dictatorship in 1974. However, the rise of anti-establishment Chega has surprised commentators, with this year’s run-off presidential election being the first since 1986.
In the last six years, the party has progressed from claiming one seat in parliament to now over a quarter. The prospect of Ventura’s victory prompted many conservatives to back Seguro and his “democratic values” in an open letter signed by nearly seven thousand “non-socialists”.
Ventura founded Chega in 2019 after a career as a football pundit, newspaper columnist and trainee priest. His campaign had featured strong anti-immigrant rhetoric and claims of corruption by his rivals.
Last December, Portuguese courts ordered Ventura to remove posters that were deemed discriminatory and inciting hatred against the Roma community.
Upon announcing his candidacy last June, president-elect Seguro promised to “serve Portugal with seriousness, independence and action.” Since then, his campaign has focused on building a “movement of hope” via visits throughout the country.
Although the role of president is largely ceremonial in Portugal, some key powers include the ability to dissolve parliament and call snap elections. Ventura had previously expressed a desire to expand these powers upon his potential success.
Seguro’s victory has been congratulated by European and global leaders. Spain’s Pedro Sánchez celebrated his win by asserting that social democracy advanced with the result, and that the two countries would “work together for a better future for Portuguese and Spanish citizens”.
Meanwhile Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated the election as consolidating “Portugal’s position in support of the Mercosur-European Union” free trade agreement, signed last month in Asunción, Paraguay.
Featured image: Antonio Jose Seguro via Instagram.
