Roundup: Portugal's new president pledges inter-party collaboration, economic stability

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal's newly-elected president, pledged Sunday to bridge differences among different parties and maintain economic stability vital to the debt-laden country.

According to preliminary results released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Election Administration, Rebelo de Sousa, a candidate with the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), garnered 52 percent of the votes after 98.77 percent of votes were counted, enough for him to claim victory without a run-off.

The 67-year-old law professor at the University of Lisbon will be sworn in as Portugal's 20th president in March, succeeding the incumbent Anibal Cavaco Silva who has served the maximum of two five-year terms.

Although the Portuguese presidency remains largely ceremonial, the head of state has the power to dissolve the parliament, call a snap election and appoint the prime minister in a time of crisis.

Rebelo de Sousa vowed in his victory speech that he will prevent the ruling anti-austerity government from worsening the country's financial health, stressing that Portugal needs stable economic growth and that the next five years are crucial to the country's economic recovery.

A minority government led by the Socialist Party has been governing Portugal with support of the Communist Party, the radical Left Bloc and the Green Party.

The ruling left-wing coalition gained absolute majority in the 230-seat government in November last year, causing the demise of the center-right government led by former Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho after serving only for 11 days.

The current government is pursuing a balancing act by ending the three-year-long austerity measures that have brought the Portuguese economy slowly on track of recovery, while pledging to stick to the financial prudence adopted after the debt-laden country gained a 78-billion-euro bailout (84 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011.

The victory of Rebelo de Sousa, who claimed himself a moderate, suggests that voters are seeking a power balance between the president and the leftist government.

Although having the support of right-wing parties, Rebelo de Sousa said that as president, he would do his best to enhance coherence and eliminate differences among political parties to reach more consensus.

Before entering politics, the president-elect had worked as a newspaper editor and a TV commentator -- jobs that gained him popularity among the public and benefited him during the election.

As a veteran politician, Rebelo de Sousa had previously served as president of the PSD as well as a member of the European Parliament. Endi