Emmanuel Macron was one of the first leaders to congratulate the new president, pledging to strengthen ties between Portugal and France through the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.
French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the first world leaders to congratulate António José Seguro on his with whom he committed to working “to strengthen ties” between Portugal and France.
“Congratulations to António José Seguro on his election to the Presidency of Portugal. We will work together to strengthen ties between Portugal and France and bring to life our Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, signed in Porto during my visit, almost a year ago. At the service of the French and the Portuguese, and of a Europe that decides for itself, more competitive, more sovereign, stronger!”, wrote Macron, on the social network X.
On the same network, the group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D, to which the PS belongs) in the European Parliament wrote: “We are very happy to celebrate António’s victory in Portugal”.
The election of the candidate supported by the PS is “a moment of hope for democracy and a clear celebration of socialist values, solidarity, justice and hope for a fairer future”.
The leader of S&D, Iratxe García Pérez, recovered the verse “the people are the ones who order most”, from the song “Grândola Vila Morena”, by Zeca Afonso, considered an anthem of the 25th of April revolution, to congratulate Seguro on the “overwhelming victory against populism and the xenophobic extreme right”.
“Socialism is alive and commendable! It is a victory for democracy, tolerance and the European progressive movement”, he said, on the X network.
The President of the Spanish Government and leader of the Spanish Socialists (PSOE), Pedro Sánchez, has not reacted so far.
António José Seguro today became the President of the Republic elected with the highest number of votes cast in 50 years of democracy, surpassing Mário Soares’ 3,459,521 in the 1991 vote.
In the second round of today’s presidential elections, the former secretary general of the Socialist Party reached 3,477,717 votes when 21 parishes and eight consulates still needed to be counted, according to data from the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Until today, Mário Soares, upon his re-election in 1991, had been the President of the Republic elected with the highest number of votes (3,459,521 out of more than eight million voters) and the highest percentage (70.35%).
Of the more than 11 million registered for these presidential elections, more than almost 3.5 million voted for Seguro, with André Ventura obtaining more than 1.7 million votes, according to data at 22:15, which pointed to an abstention rate close to 50%.
With votes still to be counted, the new President of the Republic has a percentage above 66%, while Chega’s leader exceeds 33%.
This was the 11th time that the Portuguese were called upon to choose the President of the Republic in a democracy, since 1976.
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) and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (2016-2026) have been elected.
