Portugal Votes for New President

Voters in Portugal are going to the polls Sunday to elect a new president.

Opinion polls indicate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa could become the country’s new leader in a first-round vote by a slight margin.

Brussels is closely watching the election as Portugal recovers from an $85-billion bailout.

Portugal’s presidency is largely ceremonial, but the president has the power to dissolve parliament in the event of a crisis.

Since November, Portugal has been governed by a shaky alliance of moderate center-left Socialists backed in parliament by the far-left Communists and left bloc.

Rebelo de Sousa would succeed Aníbal Cavaco Silva who served two consecutive five-year terms and who was reluctant to turn over power to a leftist coalition he viewed as “incoherent.”

Rebelo de Sousa has insisted that he would not be partisan if elected, claiming total independence. He say he wants to rule “above the fray.”
 voanews.com
24/1/16
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