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Portugal's general elections to take place on Oct. 4: president

Xinhua, July 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portugal's general elections will take place on Oct. 4, President Anibal Cavaco Silva announced on Wednesday night in a televised address to the nation.

Cavaco Silva said the country needed stability in the next legislative period and called for an absolute majority.

"It is extremely important," he said, "for the country to dispose of stability in the next legislative period. After the sacrifices the Portuguese made, the Portuguese have the right to demand a stable and durable government. Stability is only possible if there is a stable majority at parliament."

He said this year was especially important for the country's future given that Portugal was still subject to highly strict financial discipline.

"It is essential to ensure the balance of the state's accounts, the reduction of external debt and the reinforcement of the competitiveness of the economy," he pointed out.

The decision for the date for the elections was taken after the head of state held a debate with parliamentary leaders and political parties on Tuesday. The Social Democrats, CDS-PP and Socialist Party had said they preferred the date to be set for Sept. 27.

Portugal's Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho had defended that the country's rigorous budgetary strategy was the best way forward for the country, amid backlash by opposition parties.

Portugal has been applying strict austerity measures since 2011 when it signed a 78 billion euro bailout package with international lenders, and is still striving to lower its public debt which stands at over 130 percent of GDP.

The ruling coalition announced back in April that they will run together in this year's election and recent polls show the Socialist party running almost neck-and-neck with the ruling parties.

The Portuguese center-right ruling coalition expects the economy to grow 1.6 percent this year. Endit