Luís Montenegro arrived before 7:30 PM, accompanied by his wife and two children, at the hotel in central Lisbon where the AD gathered for their election night.
“We will have many opportunities to speak, [I am] confident as well,” he stated.
When asked if he held any responsibility for increased voter abstention, the Prime Minister said he was unaware if it “increased or not.”
In response to whether he had prepared any speech—be it for defeat or victory—he mentioned that he had not written anything yet.
“Please let me pass,” he requested before heading to the elevator, which took him to the 12th floor where the main leaders of the AD were monitoring the election night.
In the previous legislative elections, on March 10, 2024, the abstention rate was 40.16%, the lowest since 2005, when it was 35.74%, during José Sócrates’ first absolute majority for the PS.
Television projections for abstention in today’s legislative elections suggest it will range from 34.7% to 47.7%.
Twenty-one political forces are competing in these elections, three more than in last year’s March elections.
According to the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Administration (SGMAI), 10.8 million voters are eligible to vote in these elections.
In total, 230 deputies will be elected, across 22 electoral districts, 18 of which are in mainland Portugal, with the remainder in the Azores, Madeira, Europe, and outside Europe.
