Portugal's main opposition Socialist Party has defeated the governing coalition in elections to the European Parliament, according to exit polls on Sunday.
"A new cycle has begun in Portugal," said Socialist leader Antonio Jose Seguro after exit poll results put his party in the first place with 31.6 percent of the vote. "The Portuguese have censured this government."
"This government has come to an end. The Portuguese want a new government, a government ruled by the Socialist Party," he added.
Alianca Portugal, the ruling coalition, has conceded defeat before official results are released.
"It is absolutely clear that the Socialist Party has won the elections and that Alianca Portugal has lost," said Paulo Rangel, head of Alianca Portugal.
But he argued that it is not a historic victory for the Socialists even the best projections were confirmed.
The center-right ruling coalition got around 28.3 percent of the vote, according to exit polls.
Portugal is one of the 21 nations which voted on Sunday for deputies of the European Parliament. Only 34-39 percent of the 9.7 million eligible voters in Portugal went to the polls, according to national broadcaster RTP.
"I'm not voting," Rosa Fernandes, 59, unemployed, told Xinhua on Saturday. "I don't believe in this government or in any other party."
Voter apathy worried Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva. "Abstention is not the solution, it doesn't contribute to the improvement of life conditions of the Portuguese, and it doesn't contribute to the progress of the country," he told reporters after casting his vote on Sunday.
Decisions made at the European Parliament influence the day-to-day lives of the Portuguese, who should come out to vote, said the president.
The Green Party-Communist party coalition got around 12 percent of the vote, one of the best results for the Communist Party in history.
"I have voted for the communists because they have different ideas compared to all the current policies," said Fernando Vilaverde, 36.
"I want to change. I don't think either the ruling government or the Socialists will bring change, so it's a vote of protest," he added.
The Socialists' win came as little surprise given the unpopularity of the government's stance to stick to austerity.
The last European elections in 2009 took place before the financial crisis. Since then, five European countries -- Greece, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal, have appealed for bailout.
This year's European elections took place just a week after Portugal exited the 78-billion-euro bailout it signed with its international lenders in May 2011.
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