According to two exit polls from Portugal, Luis Montenegro's Democratic Alliance (AD) is expected to win the most votes in the country's parliamentary elections, with between 29 and 34 percent support.
However, polls disagree on the runner-up. According to research by the Pythagorika agency, the far-right Chega party is in second place with between 19,5 and 25,5 percent of the vote, just ahead of the opposition Socialist Party (PS), which has 19,4 to 25,4 percent, the Guardian reports.
On the other hand, the CESOP-UCP exit poll shows the opposite situation, although with similar results: PS between 21 and 26 percent, while Chega is between 20 and 24 percent.
Like the Spanish Vox party, with which it shares similar ideological foundations, Chega has completely shattered the myth in recent years that the authoritarian pasts of Portugal and Spain are a guarantee that the far right will not return.
Chega is now the third strongest party in the Portuguese parliament, and according to some polls, it could even become the second strongest.
The party has managed to capitalize on widespread dissatisfaction with housing problems, an overburdened health and education system, and low wages.
As political scientist Andre Azevedo Alves previously explained, party leader Andre Ventura is very skillfully exploiting disappointment in the political elite and fears of corruption.
"Ventura senses a political opportunity due to the ubiquitous dissatisfaction with the political class - both left and right. I think this is one of the key sources on which Chega survives," Alves assessed.
Despite growing popularity, Chega still remains far from entering power, mainly due to the stubborn refusal of AD leader Luis Montenegro to even consider any cooperation.
Montenegro made this clear last year, and it stands by it.
"Government with Chego is impossible for three reasons: they are inconsistent in their positions, they behave like a political weather vane that constantly changes direction, and they are not suitable for exercising power," he said.
Even the small Liberal Initiative, which could add a few seats to Montenegro's bloc, categorically refuses any cooperation that would enable Chega to enter government.
In recent months, Chega has faced scandals of the kind she had previously often used to attack political opponents.
In January, an MP was expelled from the party after being accused of stealing suitcases at airports.
Another member was caught driving under the influence of alcohol.
A third is accused of paying for oral sex on a 15-year-old minor.
Despite the scandals, Chega returned with her signature attacks on the Roma community, which sparked angry protests at some party rallies.
Speaking earlier this week, Ventura, who previously claimed that Roma in Portugal have a "chronic problem of welfare dependency, delinquency and violence", said he would confront threats coming from the community.
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