The Democratic Alliance (AD), a coalition consisting of the PSD, CDS-PP, and PPM, narrowly won the early elections on Sunday, which also saw significant gains for Chega and Livre, with the Socialist Party (PS) emerging as the main loser.

Despite claiming victory with 29.5% of the votes and securing 79 seats—just two more than the PS, with four seats still to be allocated from overseas constituencies—the coalition led by Luís Montenegro experienced one of the poorest performances in the history of PSD and CDS collaborations. The only worse outcome occurred in the previous election under Rui Rio's leadership, when the PSD garnered 29.1% and 77 seats, while the CDS under Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos failed to surpass 1.6%, resulting in no parliamentary representation.

Luís Montenegro, the PSD leader, expressed a "well-founded expectation" that the President of the Republic would appoint him as the prime minister to form the government, emphasizing the apparent inevitability of AD's victory and PS's defeat.

"It is my well-founded expectation that after consulting all political forces, the President of the Republic will nominate me to form a government," Montenegro stated during his press briefing at a Lisbon hotel where the AD coalition gathered on election night.

Regarding his campaign pledge not to collaborate with Chega, Montenegro reiterated his commitment to uphold this stance.

"The PS received significantly fewer votes and seats. It is my expectation that we all rise to the occasion to serve the national interest and the interests of the Portuguese people. What is required of the PS is to respect the will of the Portuguese people. My expectation is that neither PS nor Chega form a negative majority to obstruct the AD government," Montenegro highlighted.

"The Portuguese have expressed their desire for a change in government and policies, and for major parties to showcase renewed leadership and foster more dialogue among leaders and parties," he added.