Campaigning wraps up for tight Portugal snap election

Campaigning wrapped up in Portugal Friday ahead of a tightly-fought weekend general election, with polls pointing to a hung parliament and huge gains by the far-right.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa's Socialists, in office since 2015, are running neck-and-neck with the main opposition centre-right PSD party, according to final surveys published on Friday.

The polls suggest neither party will achieve a parliamentary majority at a crucial time when the nation of some 10 million people is trying to boost its tourism-dependent economy which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

A stable government is needed if Portugal is to make the most of a 16.6-billion-euro ($18.7 billion) package of EU recovery funds it is due to receive by 2026.

Sunday's snap polls were called in November, a month after two far-left parties that had propped up Costa's minority government sided with right-wing parties to reject his 2022 draft budget.

The Socialists then had a 13-percentage-point lead over the PSD, which has moved more to the centre since former Porto mayor Rui Rio, 64, took over the party.

Costa, 60, has repeatedly warned that a PSD government would be held "hostage" by upstart far-right party Chega whose support it would likely need -- according to him -- to pass legislation.

"There is a clear line between us and the far right," he told reporters at a street rally in central Lisbon on Friday, surrounded by flag-waving supporters.

"Maintaining that red line is very important for a healthy democracy that is not conditioned by the far right."