People standing in line wait to vote at a polling station in Lisbon, Portugal, on Oct. 1, 2017. Voters across the country are being balloted on the formation of Municipal Chambers, Municipal Assemblies and Parish Assemblies on Sunday. There are 308 municipalities and 3,091 parishes. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)
LISBON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese voters have been turning out in good numbers to participate in local elections on Sunday.
Voters across the country are being balloted on the formation of Municipal Chambers, Municipal Assemblies and Parish Assemblies. There are 308 municipalities and 3,091 parishes.
With the sun shining throughout mainland Portugal, the early signs are of a high turnout.
At the Patricio Prazeres school polling station in the Penha de Franca parish of Lisbon, an array of topics was on voters minds.
For Elisabeth and Nuno, a couple in their late 30s with a young daughter, one issue dominated all others. "Making sure this city is fit and affordable for people to live in, not just for tourists to visit," said Elisabeth.
Lisbon has undergone a tourist boom in the past five years and the town hall has struggled to find a balance between catering for tourists and providing affordable housing.
"All the big parties talk about tackling the problem, but it's superficial," Elisabeth continued. "Only the smaller parties seem genuinely intent on doing something."
For older voters, such as Fernando, in his late 50s, managing tourism is just one of many pressing concerns.
"The main issues at these elections are social security, education, public transport and justice," Fernando said. "They always are, the main parties promise to do good things about them but end up doing them badly," he added, "I've come round to favoring coalitions."
But for Maria, in her 70s, only the big parties can get things done. "I've voted for the same party for forty years and I see no reason to change now," she said.
Isabel, her contemporary, had a very different perspective. "They're all terrible," she said, "I've been to vote, but I refuse to back any party, they're all the same."
The latest opinion polls suggest the ruling center-left Socialist Party (PS) will triumph in Lisbon, with Fernando Medina expected to hold onto to his mayorship.
A bad showing is predicted for the main opposition center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD). The PSD is expected to have a rough ride throughout Portugal and finish third in Lisbon, behind conservative rivals the CDS-PP.
Polling booths close at 7 pm local time with the first results expected an hour or so later.
