Portugal`s center-right Democratic Alliance won the most votes in Sunday`s snap election, with the far-right Chega party surging to tie with the Socialist Party as the second-largest force in the country`s parliament, writes POLITICO.

With 100% of votes tallied, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s coalition was backed by 32% of Portuguese voters. That sets up the Democratic Alliance to control 89 seats in the country`s parliament, far fewer than the 116 needed for a governing majority.

Pedro Nuno Santos` Socialist Party appeared to be punished by voters for forcing elections that the public considered unnecessary. The center-left group was walloped, losing 20 seats and ending up with just 58 lawmakers in the parliament.

That leaves it tied with the far-right Chega party, which surged to secure the same number of seats. The ultranationalist group`s performance confirms its seemingly unstoppable growth in Portugal, where it has gone from having just one lawmaker in parliament in 2019 to becoming the third-largest party in last year`s election - to now controlling a quarter of the seats in the legislative body.

The tie between Chega and the Socialists could still be broken when votes from overseas are counted. "The system has been shaken", said Chega lawmaker Pedro Pinto. "And we represent a governing alternative."