Portugal vote: Governing coalition ahead, exit polls suggest Published duration 4 October 2015

image copyright EPA image caption Centre-right PM Pedro Passos Coelho (L) was being challenged by Socialist leader Antonio Costa (R)

Exit polls and early results suggest Portugal's centre-right governing coalition has won Sunday's election.

With most votes counted, the coalition is ahead with about 39%, followed by the Socialists on just under 32%, official results show.

The poll was seen as a referendum on four years of spending cuts.

The governing coalition had vowed to continue the policies, in place since 2011 after it was forced to seek a eurozone bailout.

The opposition Socialists, led by Antonio Costa, and other left-wing groups had criticised the cuts.

Unemployment has been falling for two-and-a-half years, but many regard the recovery as fragile.

The centre-right Social Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, and its right-wing ally, the People's Party, put up joint lists.

image copyright Reuters image caption There have been protests against spending cuts

image copyright AP