Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa addresses the nation from Belem Palace to announce his decision to to dissolve parliament triggering snap general elections on May 18th, after lawmakers voted against the government confidence motion, in Lisbon, Portugal, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
LISBON, March 14 (Bernama-dpa) -- Portugal will elect a new parliament as early as May 18 following the collapse of Luís Montenegro's conservative minority government, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Thursday, adding that parliament will be dissolved, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
This will be the third snap election in the south-western European country since the beginning of 2022.
The next election was not due until 2028.
[bootstrap slideshow](//www.jssor.com)
Rebelo de Sousa began consultations with party leaders just around 48 hours after the centre-right minority government collapsed in a no-confidence vote.
He also consulted with the Council of State, which advises the president in times of crisis.
Montenegro was ousted by parliament on Tuesday evening following mounting pressure over allegations of a conflict of interest linked to his family business. He denies any wrongdoing.
Since the no-confidence vote, Portugal has only had a caretaker government with limited powers. Therefore, several key initiatives will have to be put on hold until a new government is formed.
\--BERNAMA-dpa
_BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies. Follow us on social media :_
_Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio_
_
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
_