Ruling party set for comeback in Portugal

LISBON: The Portuguese cast their votes yesterday in an election that could bring greater political uncertainty as the ruling Socialists are expected to win but fall short of an absolute majority.

Prime Minister Jose Socrates, an energetic 52-year-old, is expected to win around 38 percent of the vote, according to the last polls. That result will leave him short of his current majority and he is likely to have to rule with a minority.

The highest unemployment rate since the 1980s and the worst economic downturn in decades has not been enough to push the Portuguese away from the center-left Socialists, who launched market reforms and cleaned up public finances in their first term.