Lisbon, Dec 16 (EFE).- Portugal’s former Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos will succeed António Costa as the general secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) of Portugal after winning the internal elections with 62 percent of the votes, according to preliminary results.

Pedro Nuno Santos celebrates the victory in the Portuguese Socialist Party (PS) direct elections in Lisbon, Portugal, 16 December 2023. EFE-EPA/MIGUEL A. LOPES

Santos will be the new Socialist Party leader by beating his two rivals, Minister of Internal Administration José Luís Carneiro, who received 36 percent of the votes, and Daniel Adrião, who secured 1 percent, the party’s national secretary, Pedro do Carmo, announced on Saturday at the headquarters in Lisbon.

Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa speaks to the media as he arrives for a European Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 December 2023. EFE-EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS

Minutes before the results were announced, Costa had already sent a text message to his supporters, accessed by EFE, in which he congratulated his successor.

Santos, 46, will be Socialist Party’s prime ministerial candidate in the legislative elections on Mar. 10 following Costa’s resignation amid an investigation into alleged irregularities in lithium mining and hydrogen projects.

Under Costa, he was Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Infrastructure but he resigned from the latter position a year ago following criticism over compensation paid to a board member by state-owned airline TAP.

He also led negotiations with left-wing parties which in 2015 culminated in a parliamentary agreement that paved the way for Costa to form the government.

Santos will be received by Costa at the party’s headquarters on Sunday.

Nearly 60,000 members were called to vote in the internal elections that the Socialist Party held over Friday and Saturday.

António Costa has been leader of the party since 2014.

A year later, he became prime minister, a position he has held since then for three terms.

The PS currently governs with an absolute majority in Portugal. EFE

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