Shopping Square (Praça do Comércio) in Lisbon. Archival photoMADRID, Jan 30Turnout in early parliamentary elections in Portugal by 12.00 local time (15.00 Moscow time) exceeded 23%, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In total, 23.27% of voters voted by noon.
Early parliamentary elections have begun in PortugalPolling stations in Portugal opened at 8.00 local time (11.00 Moscow time) and will close at 19.00 (22.00 Moscow time). Based on the voting results, 230 deputies of the Assembly of the Republic will be elected. Elections are held in 22 electoral districts (18 in continental Portugal, one in the Azores, one in Madeira, two abroad — in Europe and other countries). A total of 10.8 million voters are registered, of which a million are abroad. Two dozen parties have nominated their candidates, but nine of them have real chances to enter the legislature. On the eve of the vote, polls predicted a technical draw between the country's two main parties, the Socialist Party (PS) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD). None of them, according to forecasts, will manage to gain an absolute majority, and negotiations will be necessary to form a government. Now, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, more than a million people are quarantined — 10% of the country's population. The authorities, fearing a low turnout, announced that they would be able to break the self-isolation and come to vote, it is recommended to do this before closing — from six to seven in the evening. >Portugal sets date for early parliamentary elections
