Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Socialist Prime Minister António Costa won re-election to his third consecutive term during the general election in Portugal on Sunday as the new far-right party Chega took ground in the country's Parliament.
The Socialist Party won about 41.7% of the vote, giving them an absolute majority in Parliament for the first time since taking power six years ago, the Portugal Resident reported. The party now controls at least 117 seats in the 230-seat Parliament.
"The Portuguese have confirmed that they want a Socialist Party government for the next four years," Costa said after his win, according to Politico. "They want stability, certainty and security."
The Social Democratic Party, the country's center-right party, held on to second place with 27.8% of the votes -- the same share earned in the 2019 general election, Politico reported.
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Chega, which was founded in 2019 by André Ventura, increased its share of the vote from 1.3% in 2019 to 7.2% in 2022 after taking votes from the right-wing CDS-People's Party. With its share of the votes, Chega secured 12 seats in Parliament -- up from just one in 2019.
The growth of the far-right party serves as a sign that it could be a future force in Portuguese politics.
"This is bittersweet. I'm happy with Chega's growth," Ventura told Politico. "[But] António Costa will stay on as prime minister."
Ventura told the Portugal Resident that his party would serve as the opposition to Costa's government because the Social Democratic Party "hasn't done its job."
"It won't be that cuddly opposition," he said. "Everything will be different in Parliament. There will be [a party] telling the truth."
The last time that the Socialist Party had an absolute majority was during the government of former Prime Minister José Sócrates from 2005 to 2011, which was the target of high-profile corruption investigations.
The other party to make gains during the general election was the Liberal Initiative, another new party founded in 2019. The Liberal Initiative, which is a pro-business liberal/libertarian party, earned 5% of the vote share.
