This Sunday (8), more than 11 million voters go to the polls in the second round of elections in Portugal to choose who will replace the current president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
This is the first time in 40 years that a second electoral round has taken place in the country, which indicates a polarized dispute. The candidates are: André Ventura, leader of the populist Chega party and António José Seguro, from the Socialist Party (center-left).
In Portugal, a country with a semi-presidential government model, the president is the head of state and performs more ceremonial functions, it is the prime minister who heads the government and commands the Executive. But, in times of crisis, the president gains more political weight, as he commands the Armed Forces, can dissolve Parliament, dismiss the government and call elections.
The vote takes place while the country is in a state of public calamity due to storms that have already caused 13 deaths and isolated entire cities. For now the election is maintained, but the Portuguese government does not rule out postponing it if the situation worsens.
In southern Spain, the same storms also caused floods and landslides and 11,000 residents were left homeless.
