The opposition Socialist Party won Portugal's parliamentary election held on Sunday as it gained 45 percent of the vote, according to the results released by the national electoral agency. (Photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

    LISBON, Feb. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Portugal's opposition Socialists won majority in parliament in Sunday's election by seizing 119 outof the 230 seats, said the country's national electoral agency.

    According to exit polls, the Socialist Party won 45 percent of the vote, while Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes' Social Democrats gained some 30 percent, probably to have about 80 seats.

    Under the constitution, President Jorge Sampaio will ask head of the Socialist Party, Jose Socrates, to form a new government. Sunday's victory was the biggest one for the party since 1974.

    During the election campaign, the Socialists have vowed to fight sluggish economic growth and a rapid rise in unemployment bymoving Portugal from low-skill industries to more technology-basedactivities.

    They also blamed the rise in joblessness on the government's economic policies and more recently, on a lack of leadership by Lopes, who took over in July as former Prime Minister Jose Manuel Barroso stepped down to become the head of the European Commission,the executive body of the European Union (EU).

    Unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent in the last quarter of 2004, its highest level since 1998. The situation exposed fundamental flaws in Portugal's economy, fueling concerns that thenation is falling behind its fellow EU members.

    President Sampaio, who had resisted calls for a fresh vote whenBarroso stepped down, dissolved parliament in December, citing lack of confidence in the coalition government after a bout of instability. Enditem