The meeting will take place two days after the coalition formed by the PSD and the right-wing People's Party won the general election, with 38.55% of the vote and 104 seats in parliament, against 32.88% and 85 seats for the Socialist Party. Four seats from migrant constituencies remain to be allocated.


Under Portugal's constitution, it is the president who, after consulting all parties in parliament, must decide whom to ask to form a government after an election.


After the last general election four years ago, the president the following day received Passos Coelho as leader of the party with the most seats in parliament, and asked him to take immediate steps to "propose a solution for government" with majority support in parliament even before the publication of the official results.


Nine days after the 2011 election, the two men met for a second time, when Passos Coelho informed the president that he had found "majority solution for government". That same day and the following day, the president called in each party with seats in parliament and afterwards announced that he had nominated the PSD leader for prime minister.