When in doubt as to whether he would respond to his opponent, António José Seguro interrupts Clara de Sousa to find out if they “changed the rules” of the debate. A moment that André Ventura took advantage of to quip: “This is a sign of the profile of the President we are going to have”.
While the discussion was still beginning, António José Seguro did not want to move on to the next topic without first responding to André Ventura. Therefore, he interrupted Clara de Sousa asking: “Did they change the rules? It was position, reply, rejoinder, was that what they changed?”
Starting to laugh, opponent André Ventura says in an ironic tone: “This is a sign of the profile of the President we are going to have.” But Seguro responded by asking: “A President who defends the rules?”
“No, [um Presidente] who doesn’t know the rules”, said Ventura.
First and only debate of the second round
António José Seguro and André Ventura bring arguments, in first and only debate before the second round of the Presidential elections, to call for votes on February 8th.
The 75-minute face-to-face, broadcast by RTP, SIC and TVI, takes place at the Design Museum, in Lisbon. It is moderated by a journalist from each station: Carlos Daniel, Clara de Sousa and Sara Pinto.
According to the edit of the general tabulation of results, António José Seguro, candidate supported by the PS, met 31.11% of the votes. André Ventura, supported by Chega, had 23.52% of the votes.
Contrary to what happened in the first round, one thing is certain: in the second, one of them will be the next President.
A Official campaign for the second round starts this Wednesday and runs until February 6th. According to the Electoral Law of the President of the Republic, the official campaign period begins on the day following the publication of the general tabulation notice, posted this Tuesday, at 12:00, on the door of the Constitutional Court.
The current President of the Republic, elected in 2016, is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who ends his term in March 2026.
Since 1976, António Ramalho Eanes (1976-1986), Mário Soares (1986-1996), Jorge Sampaio (1996-2006), Cavaco Silva (2006-2016) have been Presidents.
Only once have presidential elections had two rounds. It was in 1986, in the famous Freitas do Amaral – Mário Soares duel.
