Portuguese ruling coalition heads to win general election: exit poll

Portugal's center-right ruling coalition that enforced harsh austerity for the past four years, including spending cuts and tax hikes, is heading to their victory on Sunday despite the main opposition Socialist Party promising a less aggressive alternative, according to an exit poll.

Spokesperson of the Social Democrat Party Marco Antonio Costa said the results pointed to a "great victory," adding that he hoped that a stable government could be formed. The exit poll shows the coalition is set to win between 38-43 percent of the vote, while the Socialists are expected to win 30-35 percent of the vote.

The ruling party is winning from 108 seats to 118 seats in a 230-seat parliament while the Socialist Party is expected to win from 80 to 88 seats, according to the exit poll by Portuguese broadcaster RTP and the Catholic University.

The exit polls "confirm exactly what polls reflected last week- - the idea that the Socialist Party did not manage to mobilize votes from the left, while the coalition recovered part of its electorate," political analyst Antonio Costa Pinto told Xinhua.

Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho will be the first in Europe to be reelected after enforcing an unpopular program with the Portuguese opting to embark on a less adventurous journey than its neighbor Greece, where the anti-austerity Syriza was comfortably elected.

Socialist leader Antonio Costa has emphasized the need to create jobs and boost growth, but Passos Coelho has convinced voters that further economic recovery can't be achieved without further sacrifices, with the more radical left-wing parties failed to convince austerity-ridden voters.

"The Socialists led us to troika," Francisca, a 60-year old pensioner told Xinhua after casting her vote at a school in central Lisbon, adding that the country's progress would not have been possible if it were not for austerity given the country's fragile situation.