Portuguese president calls snap election, leaves time to approve budget

Portugal will hold a snap parliamentary election on March 10, its second in as many years, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Thursday, following Tuesday’s abrupt resignation of the Socialist prime minister amid a corruption investigation.

Yet, the president said he would only disband parliament, where the Socialist Party has a majority of seats, after the final vote on the 2024 budget bill, due on Nov. 29. The house approved the bill on first reading on Oct. 31.

Speaking after meeting his consultative body, the Council of State, on Thursday, and talking to the main political parties a day earlier, Rebelo de Sousa said allowing lawmakers to pass the budget will “allow to meet the expectations of many Portuguese”.

The budget includes lower income tax rates for the middle class, social benefits focused on the poorest and a 24% jump in public investment to spur slowing economic growth.

By law, an election needs to be held within 60 days of the publishing of the presidential decree dissolving parliament.

Antonio Costa stepped down as prime minister on Tuesday after prosecutors detained his chief of staff in an investigation into alleged illegalities in his government’s handling of lithium and hydrogen projects.

Prosecutors said Costa was also the target of a related probe. He has denied wrongdoing.