Former socialist minister António José Seguro defeated right-wing representative André Ventura in the second round of Portugal’s presidential elections this Sunday (8).
With 96.38% of the votes counted, Seguro obtained 66.31% of the votes, against 33.69% for the leader of the Chega party.
Seguro, aged 63, had a long political career alongside the Portuguese left. Born in Penamacor, close to the border with Extremadura (Spain), the now elected president has a degree in International Relations and was involved from an early age with the Socialist Party (PS), where, between 1990 and 1994, he was secretary general of its youth wing, years in which he was also a national deputy, forming part of the group of António Guterres, current Secretary General of the UN.
He served in both Guterres governments (1995-2002), as Deputy Secretary of State to the Prime Minister and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister. Seguro also dedicated himself for a period to the European Parliament.
Upon returning to Portugal, he was parliamentary leader of the PS and, later, General Secretary of the party, until he was defeated in the internal primaries by the then mayor of Lisbon, António Costa, who later became Prime Minister (2015-2024) and is currently President of the European Council. Since then, he has remained out of the spotlight.
During the runoff campaign, he avoided using the word “socialism”, claiming that his candidacy was “independent” and “transcended party lines”. This did not prevent him from receiving the party’s explicit support.
His victory was also possible due to the support of the main center-right candidates defeated in the first round of the presidential elections, held on January 18, as well as that of former conservative presidents Cavaco Silva and António Ramalho Eanes, the first democratically elected head of state in Portugal after the Carnation Revolution, which put an end to the dictatorship.
During the campaign, André Ventura stated that this support did not represent so much support for his opponent, but rather a vote of protest against his candidacy as leader of the nationalist right. Seguro replied that his candidacy for president was one of convergence, as he is “a moderate” and “a defender of democracy”.
In his victory speech, the president-elect promised a “modern and fair” country for all Portuguese, where “everyone is equal in needs and different in freedoms”.
Ventura after the defeat: we lead the right in Portugal and will govern soon
Right-wing leader André Ventura, defeated this Sunday in the second round of the presidential elections in Portugal, stated that, despite the result, the numbers show that he leads the right in the country and promised to govern soon.
“I think the message from the Portuguese people was clear. We lead the right in Portugal, we lead the right-wing space in Portugal and we will govern this country soon,” he told his supporters in Lisbon.
He acknowledged that he did not win the election and that this means that more work is needed “to convince everyone of the necessary change.” Even so, “without winning, this movement, this party, this force had the best result in its history”, referring to his political party, Chega, founded in 2019 and which has recorded meteoric growth in recent years.
