Lisbon (EFE) – Voting day for the presidential elections in Portugal is taking place this Sunday, as stated to EFE by the spokesman for the National Electoral Commission, André Wemans, who expressed his optimism regarding participation, which reached 21.18% by midday. «Everything is proceeding smoothly and with a higher turnout than in the previous presidential elections,» declared the official, who, although he noted that it cannot be assured that these levels of participation will be maintained, expressed hope that they will represent the trend in the coming hours. «We cannot have certainty until the polls close, but we hope that this increase in participation up to 12:00 will be sustained until the end of voting,» he stated. Polling stations in mainland Portugal and Madeira began operating this Sunday at 08:00 local time and will close at 19:00 local time. In contrast, polling stations in the Azores will open an hour later due to their different time zone. More than 11 million Portuguese citizens are called to vote to select the new president who will replace Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, of which more than 1.7 million live abroad.
The voting day is proceeding without incidents in Portugal, according to the Electoral Commission.
