Portuguese leaders defy floods and far right to hold Sunday presidential runoff
Portuguese voters head back to the polls for the runoff round of the country’s presidential election on Sunday despite an ongoing state of emergency amid devastating storms. More than 7,000 people have been evacuated in Spain and Portugal since early February and at least two people died after torrential rain and flooding hit the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal has declared a state of emergency in 69 of its 308 municipalities, and thousands of residents remain without power. Far-right leader André Ventura, the runner-up candidate heading into the deciding round, has spent the past week calling for the election to be postponed until order can be restored. “It is neither unfair nor disproportionate to say that a large part of the country is in a state of calamity, we are reaching brutal levels of need, and we are not capable of holding elections in this environment,” he said. As of Saturday, 19 especially hard-hit municipalities — home to 31,862 voters — have been given permission to delay the vote by one week. But outgoing President Marcelo Rebelo …
