André Ventura leads in Portuguese votes in Brazil and advances to the second round; Lorenzato celebrates.

The far-right candidate Andre Ventura, who is running for President of Portugal, received 49% of the votes from Portuguese residents in Brazil in the first round. The voting took place this Sunday (18).

The founder of the Chega party, Ventura, will face António José Seguro of the Socialist Party in the second round. The new vote is scheduled for February 8th.

With 99,79% of the votes counted, Seguro registered 31,11% of the total votes, while Ventura obtained 23,52%. The scenario was reversed among voters who voted outside of Portuguese territory.

Abroad, Ventura led with 41,89% of the valid votes. The socialist Seguro came in second outside Portugal, with 23,24% of the international electorate's preference.

In Brazil, the Chega party candidate won in nine out of ten state capitals where voting was available. He received the most votes in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belém, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Recife, and Salvador.

António José Seguro only won against Ventura in Porto Alegre. Abstention in Brazil was high, with only 1,86% of the 303.670 Portuguese voters registered in the country turning out.

André Ventura bases his platform on combating corruption and tightening immigration rules. He advocates for a constitutional reform to apply harsher penalties in the prison system.

António José Seguro presents a moderate image and seeks to re-establish political dialogue. The Socialist candidate has the lowest rejection rate among voters, according to data from the Catholic University of Lisbon.

Seguro was a minister in the 1990s and a professor of political science. Ventura is a lawyer, holds a doctorate in law, and founded the Chega party in 2019 after leaving the Social Democratic Party.

The result pleased the former congressman. Luis Roberto LorenzatoIn the Italian Parliament, he celebrated Ventura's performance. On social media, he advocated for unity within the conservative sector.

“The right needs to overthrow socialism and communism,” wrote Lorenzato. He congratulated Ventura on reaching the second round and stated that the election represents a “new opportunity for change.”