PORTUGAL: Portuguese socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates appeared for the first time alongside Presidential candidate Mario Soares in a electoral rally in Oporto.

Record ID: 346997

  • Title: PORTUGAL: Portuguese socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates appeared for the first time alongside Presidential candidate Mario Soares in a electoral rally in Oporto.
  • Date: 16th January 2006
  • Summary: PULL IN: PLACARD IN LISBON SQUARE
  • Embargoed: 31st January 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Portugal
  • Country: Portugal
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9FURMBDU488V95MAPNABU9FZ7
  • Story Text: Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates appeared at candidate Mario Soares's side on Saturday (January 14) for the first time in the campaign leading up to the January 22 presidential elections.
    Soares, running with the support of the Socialist party and one of Portuguese best-known political figures, is trailing badly in polls, which are pointing to a first-round win by former Prime Minister Anibal Cavaco Silva.
    But Prime Minister Socrates said he was supporting Soares because he was the candidate with the most prestige internationally. He said Portugal needed "a voice that is heard, listened to, and respected" overseas.
    "We support Mario Soares because he has that prestige and he will increase the role of Portugal in the world," he said.
    Cavaco Silva, 66, two-term prime minister between 1986 and 1996, is close to gaining the more than 50 per cent of votes needed for a first round win, according recent surveys. He has taken his big lead partly helped by a fractured leftist opposition, in particular the clash between Socialist rivals Soares and Manuel Alegre.
    Alegre, a socialist lawmaker and poet, broke from the Socialist Party to stand as an independent. 81-year-old Soares, a former prime minister and former president, is a founding figure of Portuguese democracy.
    Soares said he did not believe the polls, and remained confident of an election victory.
    "Wherever I go - from the north to the south of the country - the voters flock to embrace me," he said. "I am absolutely confident that we are going to win this battle."
    Speaking at a rally near Oporto, Lisbon, he urged his supporters to use their vote.
    "Our big enemy in forthcoming elections is abstention and it is not necessary to abstain. I urge everyone to cast their vote - because votes are the weapon of the people."
    Election law requires the winner to get at least 50 percent of the vote, and a second round is set for February 12 if needed.
    The presidency is largely ceremonial and despite limited powers, the president is head of the armed forces, can veto laws, name prime ministers and dissolve parliament.
    The winner will replace Socialist Jorge Sampaio, who gave an example of his powers in late 2004 when he dismissed the Social Democratic government and called early elections that ushered in the current Socialist administration.
    Portugal's nearly nine million registered voters will elect their 19th president since the Republic was declared in 1910.
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