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CDS leader does not expect “very high” abstention after long wait to vote

“I believe the abstention will not be very high this time, but, well, we are close to noon, we still have much of the day ahead and sometimes there are conjunctural phenomena that help justify a larger or smaller turnout, depending on the hours and elections,” stated Nuno Melo today.

By late morning today, at the Manoel de Oliveira Primary School in Porto, lines extended at all 11 polling stations.

After a wait of about half an hour, the CDS-PP leader and Minister of Defense declared to journalists that it was “a good sign.”

“Everything a democrat does not want is abstention. Democratic participation is fundamental and from this point of view, even compared to other elections here [in Porto], apparently, the adherence has been significant so far,” he shared.

At this school in the Union of the parishes of Aldoar, Foz do Douro, and Nevogilde, Nuno Melo hoped that many people would go to the polls and considered that the call at such moments “is absolutely crucial.”

After traveling “thousands of kilometers across the country” in the campaign, the CDS-PP leader plans to spend the rest of the day with his family.

“After such intense campaigning, family support is absolutely fundamental,” he concluded.

More than 9.3 million voters can participate in these municipal elections, according to data from the registration provided by the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI).

Of the 9,303,840 registered voters, 9,262,722 are national, and among the rest, 18,319 are foreign voters from the European Union (EU) and 22,799 are foreigners from outside the EU, both cases registered in national territory.

The voters will elect the governing bodies of the 308 Municipal Chambers, 308 Municipal Assemblies, and 3,221 Parish Assemblies, therefore, there are three ballots.

In total, 1,584 lists of parties, coalitions, and citizen groups are candidates for the Municipal Chambers, 1,519 for the Municipal Assemblies, and 9,764 lists for the Parish Assemblies, according to the most updated data extracted from the lists from the General Secretariat of the MAI.

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