MADRID, September 28 (RIA Novosti) - Portugal's center-left Socialist Party led by Prime Minister Jose Socrates has won parliamentary elections and will stay in power for another four years, the Spanish television reported.
According to the National Election Commission, with 99% of the votes counted, the Socialist Party has won 36.6%, while the main opposition party, the center-right Social Democratic Party, has polled 29.1%, the RTPi television said.
The results give the Socialists 94 seats in the 230-seat parliament - 27 seats less compared to elections four years ago. This could force the Socialist Party to seek a parliamentary coalition in order to prevent the opposition from blocking legislation, which has to be approved by over 50% of lawmakers.
The conservative Social-Democratic Center-Popular Party garnered 10.5% of the votes, while the socialist Left Bloc had 9.9% and the Communist/Green coalition - 7.4%.
Voter turnout was only 60.5%, and is considered by experts as a sign of political apathy in the country, which, despite a wide range of social and economic reforms remains western Europe's poorest country with some of the lowest productivity, education and wages levels.
