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                        Portugal Votes for New President

   by VOA News

   Voters in Portugal are going to the polls Sunday to elect a new
   president.

   Opinion polls indicate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa could become the
   country's new leader in a first-round vote by a slight margin.

   Brussels is closely watching the election as Portugal recovers from an
   $85-billion bailout.

   Portugal's presidency is largely ceremonial, but the president has the
   power to dissolve parliament in the event of a crisis.

   Since November, Portugal has been governed by a shaky alliance of
   moderate center-left Socialists backed in parliament by the far-left
   Communists and left bloc.

   Rebelo de Sousa would succeed AnĂbal Cavaco Silva who served two
   consecutive five-year terms and who was reluctant to turn over power to
   a leftist coalition he viewed as "incoherent."

   Rebelo de Sousa has insisted that he would not be partisan if elected,
   claiming total independence. He say he wants to rule "above the fray."
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/portugal-voting-for-new-president/316
   0408.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/portugal-voting-for-new-president/3160408.html