Today in the news: local elections, Teleperformance and Montepio

In seven of the country's ten most populous municipalities, Chega may have the power to block or approve city council measures. The general counting assembly will deliberate this Wednesday whether 62 votes from voters in the parish of São Domingos de Benfica will be counted, which could change the distribution of councilor seats in Lisbon. Read the headlines in the national press this Wednesday.

Chega could be decisive in governing seven of the ten largest municipalities

Once the votes from the local elections are tallied, it's clear that Chega will have influence over the governance of seven of the country's ten most populous municipalities. These include, for example, Lisbon, Cascais, Amadora, and Porto, while Loures, Braga, and Matosinhos are the three exceptions where municipal executives can govern without needing to engage with councilors from André Ventura's party or fear a potential blocking coalition. The most emblematic case will be Amadora, as the municipal executive could be blocked from the outset, with the PS having the same four councilors as the PSD-led coalition. This means that Chega (with two mandates) could 'break the tie' in favor of the right, leaving the CDU councilor insufficient for the Socialists to hold on to the council leadership.

Read the full story in Diário de Notícias (paid access)

There are 62 votes to be counted in Lisbon

An "error" in the early voting ballots of a Lisbon parish is affecting the final vote count in the capital's municipality. The general counting assembly will deliberate this Wednesday whether or not 62 votes from voters in São Domingos de Benfica who cast their ballots early will be counted. This could change the distribution of councilor seats in the capital, particularly those allocated to Chega and the CDU. Early Monday morning, the last of the 17 councilors was allocated to Chega, which will now have two elected members, by a margin of just 11 votes over the CDU, which drops from two to one councilor. In the Parish Assembly, the 62 votes have no implications because the differences are all greater than that number, as is the case in the Municipal Assembly.

Read the full story in Expresso (paid access)

Teleperformance lays off 240 workers via video call

The multinational Teleperformance has announced a collective layoff of 240 employees in Portugal, covering its offices in Vila Nova de Gaia, Lisbon, and Covilhã. According to the company, the decision is intended to "promote its organizational adaptation to the current business environment." Among the laid-off employees, who were informed of the dismissal via videoconference, are middle-level management and long-term employees, as well as pregnant and sick employees. The National Union of Telecommunications and Audiovisual Workers (SINTTAV) stated that the company's management informed them that the objective is to reduce costs and guarantee unemployment benefits for all employees. According to Teleperformance, the restructuring represents "less than 2% of its workforce."

Read the full story in Jornal de Notícias (paid access)

Supervisor gives Virgílio Lima's team the green light to continue at Montepio until 2029

The Insurance and Pension Fund Supervisory Authority (ASF) has given the green light for the administration headed by Virgílio Lima to continue at the helm of Montepio Geral – Associação Mutualista. The team has two departures and three arrivals, including Social Democrat José Eduardo Martins, and is now ready to take office after the December elections. The current president, Virgílio Lima, in office since the departure of António Tomás Correia in 2019, obtained registration for the 2026-2029 term with the ASF at the end of September. If elected and serving his full term, he will be at the helm of the association that owns Banco Montepio and the Lusitania insurance companies for a decade.

Read the full story in Público (paid access)

The State already owes more to Portuguese families than to the troika

After the rush to buy savings certificates, in which individual investors increased their influence in the state's financing structure, households overtook the troika as creditors of Portuguese public debt. This is because, simultaneously, Portugal has been repaying the loans it received during the financial bailout. According to data on the structure of the state's direct debt from a public accounting perspective, included in the 2026 State Budget (SB) proposal, the Economic and Financial Assistance Program (EFAP) will still represent €46.103 billion at the end of the year, with €800 million expected to be repaid next year to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and another €2.2 billion to the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM). These loans will represent 14.4% of the debt at the end of the year and 13% in 2026. Savings certificates, in turn, will represent 12.6% of the debt at the end of this year, with the percentage rising to 15.1% in 2025 and 14.8% next year, combining Treasury certificates and variable-yield Treasury Bonds.

Read the full story in Jornal de Negócios (paid access)