Socialists and social democrats go head to head for the third and last time this year for Portuguese local elections.

The centre-right PSD came out on top in June’s European elections but in the general election two weeks ago, voters returned the Socialist Party to power. The capital, Lisbon, is expected to stay under the control of current, socialist mayor Antonio Costa touted as future leader of the party. In Porto, the country’s second city, the favourite to win is social democrat Rui Rio, who is also tipped to one day lead the PSD. Nationwide, the PSD is defending 158 councils, while the socialists have 109. Political rivalry took a tragic twist in one rural voting station 400 kilometers north of Lisbon. The husband of the local social democrat candidate was shot dead as he was helping to set up ballot boxes. Police say he was killed by the constituency’s socialist party candidate, who fled immediately after the incident.More about: Portugal

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