Portugal’s President, Cavaco Silva, has invited Pedro Passos Coelho to form the country’s next Government, even though his coalition will not hold the majority of seats in the nation’s Parliament.

“I hereby follow the rule that has always been put in place in our democracy: that who[ever] wins [the general election] is invited to form a Government,” Mr Silva stated, quoted by Portuguese broadcaster Rádio Renascença. The President was addressing the nation in a broadcast on Thursday.

Mr Passos Coelho, the country’s prime minister going into the election, once again leads a centre-right coalition of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the conservative Popular Party (CDS-PP). The coalition won the October 4 general election, but lost the absolute majority it had in the nation’s 230-seat Parliament.

Since the election, political parties in Portugal have been holding talks with the aim of ensuring a period of stable government.

The Socialist Party (PS) – which was the second most voted in the general election –, the Left Block (BE) party and the Democratic Unitary Coalition, formed from the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and the ‘Ecological Party – “The Greens”’ (PEV), collectively said they had reached a deal that would allow the country to have a centre-left government. But Portugal’s President has rejected this alternative.

Mr Silva’s decision was announced after he consulted all political parties.

In his address Mr Silva appealed to legislators to vote “conscientiously” when the Government presents its programme to Parliament in the next few days. The President added that unless the programme is approved by an absolute majority of legislators, then the new Government will be deemed to have been dismissed.