Portugal voted Sunday in a close-fought election, with no party expected to garner a majority in parliament in a fragmented political landscape that could see the far-right make huge gains.
Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa is fighting for his political life after a late surge by the center-right opposition PSD party clawed away his side's once comfortable poll lead.
The two parties are in a statistical tie according to final surveys. The prospect of another weak minority government comes as Portugal is trying to boost its tourism-dependent economy which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
A stable government is needed for Portugal to make the most of a 16.6-billion-euro ($18.7 billion) package of EU recovery funds it is due to receive by 2026.
"Portugal needs stability after these two difficult years of fighting against the pandemic," Costa, in office since 2015, told a final rally in second-city Porto on Friday.
Sunday's snap polls were called after two far-left parties that had propped up Costa's minority government sided with right-wing parties to reject his 2022 draft budget in October.