The new Portuguese Parliament failed again to elect a president after its meeting on Tuesday evening, for the first time since its election on March 10.
In a fragmented circle between the moderate right, the socialists, and the extreme right, the only candidate running for the moderate right coalition did not obtain the required majority of 116 votes.
The result of the vote surprised many people, because the far-right Chiga (Enough) party had announced the day before that it would support his candidacy, in the hope of electing someone from his party to one of the vice-presidential positions.
Then the Democratic Alliance (AD) led by new Prime Minister Luis Montenegro decided to Aguiar Branco's candidacy was withdrawn, causing a stalemate.
The representatives gave themselves until eight o'clock in the evening GMT to present new candidates, but after voting, none of the competing candidates obtained the required majority.
As a reminder, after 8 years of socialist rule, the Democratic Alliance won the legislative elections with 28.8% of the votes and 80 deputies out of a total of 230, compared to 28% of the votes and 78 seats for the Socialist Party.
For his part, Chiga clearly strengthened his position as the third political force in the country, as his number of seats increased from 12 to 50 deputies, with a Score 18.1%.
