António José Seguro gives his 1st speech as elected president of Portugal

António José Seguro in his first speech as president-elect REUTERS António José Seguro, from the Socialist Party, made his first speech as president-elect of Portugal this Sunday (8), shortly after confirming his victory in the 2nd round of elections. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp Presidential election: why does Portugal have two leaders, and what does the Portuguese president do? The left-wing candidate, who received support from candidates from center parties, received 66.7% of the valid votes against 33.3% for André Ventura, from the far-right Chega party. Seguro began his speech by expressing regret for the victims of the storms that have been hitting Portugal and spoke about the State’s responsibility in helping them. Then he thanked those who overcame adverse weather conditions to exercise their citizenship and go to the polls. “The winners tonight are the Portuguese and democracy”, stated the new president, also sending a message to his opponent: “As a democrat, everyone who competed with me deserves my respect. As a future president, I add that from tonight onwards we are no longer adversaries and we have a shared duty to work for a more developed and fairer Portugal”. Two exit polls released after the polls closed – 7pm local time and 4pm in Brasília this Sunday (8) – already pointed to victory, predicted in voting intention polls. To journalists, before his official announcement as elected, Seguro stated: “The response that the Portuguese people gave today, their commitment to freedom, democracy and the future of our country, leaves me naturally moved and proud of our nation.” In his speech, he stated that Portugal has a unique opportunity for all powers to find a solution to the problems currently facing the country. “I will be the driver of this change, to improve the lives of the Portuguese”, he said. He also defended that transparency and ethics are non-negotiable. “Hope is not ignoring problems, but the certainty that we have the ability to solve them,” he said. António José Seguro is elected new president of Portugal. In the image, he arrives to follow the counting of the second round, on Sunday night (8), in Lisbon PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP On his social media profile, Ventura acknowledged his defeat and thanked his supporters: “We didn’t win these presidential elections, but we are making history! Thank you for your trust.” Supporters of presidential candidate and moderate socialist António José Seguro react to the results of the polls on the day of the presidential elections REUTERS/Pedro Nunes António José Seguro is 63 years old and a long-time socialist politician. During the campaign, he positioned himself as a moderate candidate who will cooperate with Portugal’s center-right minority government, repudiating Ventura’s anti-establishment and anti-immigration diatribes, and won the support of other mainstream politicians, both left and right, who want to stem the rising populist tide. Despite this Sunday’s defeat, André Ventura, 43 years old, continues his rise in popularity in the country. The growing support for him and his party reflects the growing influence of the far right in Portugal and much of Europe. Portuguese return to the polls in historic 2nd round to choose new president Last year, his party, Chega, became the second largest Portuguese parliamentary force, surpassing the socialists and falling behind the ruling center-right alliance, which obtained 31.2%. “The entire political system, both right and left, has united against me. Even so, I believe that the leadership of the right was defined and consolidated today. I hope to lead this political space from today onwards,” Ventura told journalists as he left a Catholic mass in the center of Lisbon. André Ventura, candidate for Portugal’s far-right party Arrives REUTERS/Rodrigo Antunes Portugal’s Executive Power is divided between two figures: the president and the prime minister. Due to the country’s political system, semi-presidentialism, it is the prize that takes care of the day-to-day running of the government and the president has a more ceremonial role, representing the country internationally and intervening when he deems it necessary. The position of the Portuguese Presidency has been held for almost a decade by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, from the center-right, who was marked by a conciliatory stance and for leading the country during successive political crises. Election was postponed in some municipalities The storms that have been affecting Portugal in recent weeks caused the second round of presidential elections, which took place across the country this Sunday (8), to be postponed in some most affected municipalities. According to information from the Reuters news agency, cities in the south and center of the country postponed the vote for a week. Around 37 thousand voters, which corresponds to 0.3% of the total, were affected. Upon arriving to vote, Ventura criticized the government for maintaining the election date. He had been advocating in recent days that they be postponed in solidarity with the victims of the torrential rains and strong winds. “I think it was disrespectful because it turned some Portuguese into first-class citizens and others into second-class citizens. I think that in many parts of the country, people feel disrespected,” he said. António José Seguro, candidate for the Socialist Party of Portugal REUTERS/Pedro Nunes Seguro also spoke about the postponement in some electoral areas. He expressed solidarity with those affected, but asked that citizens not stop going to the polls: “I hope that these better weather conditions allow people to go out and vote. This is the moment when the people are sovereign, when every vote counts and truly decides the future of our country. We are electing the President of the Republic for the next five years, which is a very important decision. I also express my solidarity with all the families who are going through difficult times in some parts of our country.” At the end of January, Storm Kristin left 5 dead, a trail of destruction and almost half a million people without power in the country. Storm kills five in Portugal ​

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