Portugal will elect the fourth president in its democratic history on Sunday. The following are the key facts about the presidential elections.

Portugal, which covers over 92,072 square km, is located in southern Europe along the western face of the Iberian Peninsula,

bordered by Spain to the north and east and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Almost all of the inhabitants speak Portuguese and the capital is Lisbon.

Nearly 9 million Portuguese are eligible to vote for a successor to Socialist President Jorge Sampaio. The vote will run Sunday from 08:00 to 19:00 local time (0800 GMT to 1900 GMT).

Under Portugal's constitution, the president is directly elected and can only serve two consecutive five-year terms. The president will preside over the Council of State, appoint and dismiss the prime minister, the cabinet and parliament.

If no candidate gains more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election between the two front-runners will be held on Feb. 12.

The latest poll showed Cavaco Silva of the Social Democratic Party gained 52 percent of support, Manuel Alegre, an independent runner, had about 20 percent, and Mario Soares, candidate for the Socialist Party, 14 percent.

The other three candidates are Francisco Louza of the Left Block, Jeronimo de Sousa of the Portuguese Communist Party and Garcia Pereira of the Communist Worker's Party.

Source: Xinhua