Portugal's centre-right ruling coalition claimed a clear victory in a national election yesterday after exit polls put it well ahead of the main opposition Socialists, although likely shy of an outright parliament majority.

“In the name of the coalition we are here to affirm that all the projections that are known point to a clear fact that the coalition Portugal Forward had a great victory on this election night,” Marco Antonio Costa, deputy president of the main coalition party, the Social Democrats, told cheering supporters.

“We will maintain our commitment to guarantee a recovery... and will maintain an attitude of dialogue."

Portuguese voted in a national election yesterday with polls predicting another win for their austerity-minded, centre-right government that guided them through an economic crisis.

Better option than risking  recovery

Minority governments have a dismal history in Portugal and many are worried such an outcome could endanger Portugal’s fledgling economic recovery.

The general election is the first since Portugal exited an international bailout last year.

In fact, Portugal’s economy returned to timid growth last year after a three-year recession and growth is now accelerating at a steady if slow pace.

Waiting outside a polling station in the centre of Lisbon, Nuno Bras, a 45-year-old office worker, said that he was not happy with the government, but insisted that it was “a better option than to risk undoing the recovery that has only just begun”.