Exit polls show Portugal's centre-right ahead in election, far-right key

Reuters
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Portugal holds general election, in Lisbon

MADRID (Reuters) - Portugal's centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) was poised to win the most votes in Sunday's parliamentary election, but well short of a full majority, three exit polls showed, putting the AD in the 27.6%-33% range, just ahead of the incumbent Socialists.

The polls published by the three main television channels SIC, RTP and TVI showed that all right-wing parties combined, including the far-right Chega, were likely to secure an outright majority. Chega was likely to win 14%-21.6%, a large jump from its 7.2% in the last election in January 2022.

However, the AD has so far ruled out any agreement with Chega, which could make for an unstable government.

The polls put the Socialist Party in the 24.2% to 29.5% range.

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip)