Portuguese election set to result in another minority government
The Democratic Alliance captured between 29% and 34% of the votes in the country's third general election in three years, according to an exit poll by Portugal's Catholic University for public broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa.
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The centre-left Socialist Party got between 21% and 26% while the hard-right populist party Chega (Enough) got between 20% and 24%, the poll indicated.
With that tally, the Democratic Alliance could get between 85 and 96 seats, short of the 166 seats needed for a majority in Portugal's 230-seat parliament.
It could form a minority government or forge partnerships with smaller parties for a majority.
Chega's possible count was a surprise, potentially putting it close to a level footing with the Socialist Party.
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A second consecutive minority government would dash hopes that the ballot might end the worst spell of political instability in decades for the European Union country of 10.6 million people.
Most official results are expected by midnight UK time.
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