Portuguese will be marking ballots on Sunday in a snap parliamentary election with no clear winner in sight and uncertainty increased by potentially low turnout amid record coronavirus infections.
Over a tenth of Portugal's 10 million people are estimated to be isolating because of COVID-19. As in many European countries, infections have spiked lately, stoked by the Omicron variant, although widespread vaccination has kept deaths and hospitalisations lower than in earlier waves.
"I hope it gets settled and we have a stable government, no more uncertainty," said Paulo Pinto, a 43-year-old car mechanic in Lisbon. "I just hope enough people go and vote, make themselves heard despite COVID." Pharmacy worker Sofia Mantua, 27, said she felt safe enough as she was preparing to vote using her own pen, disinfectant and a higher-grade face mask than the common surgical one.
"In our day-to-day we also end up crossing paths with infected people so the risk already exists. I don't feel like I'm going to take a greater risk" voting, she said.Reporting by Andrei Khalip; Additional reporting by Catarina Demony; editing by Grant McCoolSubscribe to our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
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