Portugal: Campaigning begins for presidential election | AFP
Campaigning for Portugal’s presidency officially got underway Sunday, with a record 10 candidates, led by conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, contending the Jan. 24 ballot. De Sousa, a 67-year-old professor of law and veteran TV political commentator, is backed by 52.9 percent of the public, according to an opinion poll of 600 voters, published Sunday by the newspaper Correio da Manha. If so, he could be elected in the first round. A runoff will be held Feb. 14 if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of votes cast.