The Portuguese electoral authority confirmed on Thursday that the second round of the presidential election would be held on Sunday despite the request from the far right to postpone the vote due to bad weather caused by storm Leonardo.

Published on: 02/05/2026 - 9:34 p.m. Modified on: 02/05/2026 - 9:35 p.m.

Serious bad weather in Portugal. The Portuguese electoral authority confirmed, Thursday, February 5, that the second round of the presidential election would be held on Sunday, as planned, despite the disruptions caused by the bad weather that hit the Iberian country in recent days.

The law "does not allow the general postponement of elections, at the national level", indicated the National Elections Commission (CNE) in a press release, after the request of the far-right candidate, André Ventura, to postpone the vote which will pit him against the moderate socialist, Antonio José Seguro.

As the outgoing president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, indicated earlier in the day, the decision to possibly postpone the election to the following Sunday rests with the municipal authorities.

The far right in favor of the postponement

This has already been announced by the town hall of Alcacer do Sal, a municipality in the south of the country among the most affected by the floods caused by the Leonardo depression.

And even in these cases, recalled the electoral authority, "the law does not impose postponement in all voting assemblies in the municipality".

“The existence of a state of calamity, weather alerts or generally unfavorable situations does not constitute, in itself, a sufficient reason to postpone the vote at the municipal or regional level,” underlined the CNE in its press release.

“I am going to propose today to the other candidate, to the President of the Republic and to the various municipal authorities, for a question of equality between all Portuguese, that the electoral act be postponed for a week,” declared earlier the far-right candidate, André Ventura.

Big favorite of the second round, the socialist candidate Antonio José Seguro immediately reacted to his opponent's proposal by showing himself in favor of maintaining the date of the election wherever possible.

“It is up to the authorities to assess the conditions for holding the election in each municipality. (...). I call on the Portuguese who are able to vote to do so on Sunday,” he told the media.

With AFP

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