In a field of 10 contenders, 67-year-old Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal’s most popular television pundit and the candidate supported by the centre-right opposition, has emerged as the overwhelming favourite after decades in the public eye. According to the polls published on Friday, he could gather support from 51 to 55 percent of voters and win in the first round.
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Polls suggest that de Sousa, a law professor who has been involved in Portuguese politics and media since his youth, will surpass the 50% mark required for an outright win in Sunday’s voting.
Rebelo de Sousa says he wants to build bridges between political parties and won’t rock the boat.
Opinion polls have suggested that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will collect more than 50 percent of the vote against nine rivals, some of whom are splitting the left-of-center vote.
A runoff between the two front-runners would be held February 14.
But Antonio Sampaio da Novoa is tipped to make it to the second round should there be one, and he enjoys widespread support from the moderate left and three former presidents, two of them socialists.
In Portugal, the president is a ceremonial post, but has the power in the event of a crisis to dissolve the parliament and dismiss the ruling government, which has been relying on a fragile coalition with the far-left to run the country since last October’s general election.
The government is trying to pull off a balancing act by ending austerity measures while sticking to the financial prudence adopted after Portugal’s 78 billion-euro ($84 billion) bailout in 2011.
“The president has to be a factor of stability, not instability”, he said during the campaign.
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Portuguese president serves five-years in a term and can be elected for another.
