Portuguese voters go to the polls Sunday in presidential elections with public opinion polls indicating that former center-right Prime Minister Anibal Cavaco Silva far ahead of five other candidates.
It remains unclear whether Cavaco Silva will garner more than 50 percent of the vote required for a first round win. If no candidate gains more than half the votes cast, the top two will meet in a run-off February 12.
Cavaco Silva's top rivals are former Socialist President and Prime Minister Mario Soares and Socialist lawmaker and celebrated poet Manuel Alegre.
Portugal's presidency is a largely ceremonial role. But Cavaco Silva has pledged to press the government to continue with economic reforms aimed at energizing the country's stagnant economy.
Some information for this story provided by Reuters and AP.