Portugal's election campaign begins under pandemic limits
ABC News
The official two-week campaigning period for Portugal’s Jan. 30 general election is kicking off
LISBON, Portugal -- The official two-week campaigning period for Portugal’s Jan. 30 general election kicked off Sunday, but there will be none of the large flag-waving rallies usually associated with the buildup to the ballot because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The vote comes two years ahead of schedule after parliament in November rejected the minority Socialist government’s 2022 state budget and the country’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, called an early election.
The state budget is particularly important now because it sets out how billions of euros in European Union aid to recover from the pandemic will be spent.
The ballot will elect 230 lawmakers to the Republican Assembly, Portugal’s parliament. Lawmakers will then vote on who forms a government.
