Portugal's Socialists claim election victory
The ruling Socialists won Sunday's parliamentary election with more votes than four years ago but will still likely fall short of having an outright majority, exit polls showed on Sunday (October 6).
According to Press TV, the main question now is who Prime Minister Antonio Costa will pick as allies to stay in power. Official results will trickle in through the evening.
The brackets of voting given by the pollsters were quite wide. Depending on how close the outcome eventually is, a clear picture could emerge quickly or take days or even weeks.
At the Socialist party headquarters, supporters stood up cheering as the exit polls were published.
Senior Socialist lawmaker Ana Catarina Mendes said Socialists had "a great victory" in Sunday's parliamentary election and will seek to form a stable government for four years of the legislature.
Post-election negotiations are not expected to be as messy as in neighboring Spain, which still has no government more than five months after elections and is heading for a repeat poll in November.
ME
