Portuguese gov't not to cede powers until elections: PM

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho pointed out on Friday that the center-right ruling coalition will remain in office until the elections and will not cede powers due to the president's announcement earlier this week that the elections are taking place on October 4.

"The government is investing in all its powers until the elections and the president calling for elections does not alter that," Passos Coelho said during a visit to Pedrogao Grande, around 200 km north of capital Lisbon, according to Portuguese Lusa News Agency.

Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva announced on Wednesday night in a televised address to the nation that the general election elections will take place on October 4.

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

Passos Coelho's remarks on Friday came after the Socialist Party, the country's main opposition, called for the center-right ruling coalition to "immediately stop" its privatization plans on Thursday after the election date was set.

On October 4 Portuguese will vote after several years of painful austerity implemented under the 78 billion euro bailout program the country signed in 2011 with international lenders. Several state-owned companies, such as airline TAP, have been privatized as part of the bailout program.

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