LISBON – Portugal is seeing an unprecedented number of 11 candidates vying for the presidency in Sunday’s election. Among them, a leader of a populist party stands out, potentially setting the stage for yet another significant advance for Europe’s surging far-right movements.

Given the crowded candidate list, it seems unlikely that any single contender will secure the necessary 50% of votes to win outright in the first round. Should this occur, the two leading candidates will face off in a decisive runoff scheduled for the following month.

Approximately 11 million Portuguese citizens are eligible to cast their votes in this pivotal election. Most results are expected to be tallied and announced by the end of the day. The victor will succeed President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is stepping down after serving two consecutive five-year terms, the maximum allowed.

Polling stations opened their doors at 8 a.m., welcoming voters under mostly sunny skies, and will remain open for 12 hours.

Key candidates

Among the front-runners, according to recent opinion polls, are André Ventura, the leader of the populist Chega (Enough) party. Chega’s surge in public support made it the second-largest party in Portugal’s parliament last year, just six years after it was founded.

One of Ventura’s main targets has been what he calls excessive immigration, as foreign workers have become more conspicuous in Portugal in recent years. “Portugal is ours,” he says.

During the election campaign, Ventura put up billboards across the country saying, “This isn’t Bangladesh” and “Immigrants shouldn’t be allowed to live on welfare.”

Such blatant anti-immigrant sentiment expressed in public was unthinkable in Portugal just a few years ago.

Other leading candidates are from the country’s two main parties that have alternated in power for the past half-century: Luís Marques Mendes from the center-right Social Democratic Party, currently in government, and António José Seguro of the center-left Socialist Party.

A strong challenge is expected from retired Rear Adm. Henrique Gouveia e Melo, who is running as an independent and won public acclaim for overseeing the speedy rollout of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.

Only one woman is among the candidates. Portugal has never had a female or non-white head of state.

Challenges for next president

Last May, Portugal held its third general election in three years in its worst spell of political instability for decades. Steadying the ship is a key challenge for the next president.

Ventura, the populist leader, has sought to turn immigration into a campaign issue, but voters appear more concerned about a housing crisis and the cost of living.

A law permitting euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in Portugal that parliament approved in 2022, but has been held up by constitutional objections, will likely land on the president’s desk for approval.

What’s at stake

In Portugal, the president is largely a figurehead with no executive power. Mostly, the head of state aims to stand above the political fray, mediating disputes and defusing tensions.

However, the president is an influential voice and possesses some powerful tools, being able to veto legislation from parliament, although the veto can be overturned. The head of state also possesses what in Portuguese political jargon is called an “atomic bomb” — the power to dissolve parliament and call early elections.

Political events in Portugal have little bearing on the overall direction of the European Union. It has one of the bloc’s smallest economies, and its armed forces are of a modest size.

What comes next

A runoff between the top two finishers on Sunday will be held on Feb. 8.

That will decide who serves a five-year term at the president’s riverside “pink palace” in Lisbon.