Portugal To Hold Presidential Election On Sunday

MOSCOW, Jan 18 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- Portugal will hold a presidential election on Sunday, with 11 candidates to compete for the largely ceremonial role, Sputnik/RIA Novosti reported.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been in office since 2016. He is barred by law from running for a third consecutive term.

Among the frontrunners are Luis Marques Mendes, who is backed by the ruling Social Democratic Party, Andre Ventura of the right-wing Chega party, Antonio Jose Seguro of the Socialist Party, and Joao Cotrim de Figueiredo of the pro-business Liberal Initiative party.

More than 11 million voters will be eligible to cast their ballots. If no candidate wins over 50 per cent in the first round, a runoff is expected on February 8.

-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI