Global Elections Shake Up: Portugal, Japan, Iran

Centre-left candidate António José Seguro secured a convincing victory in the Portuguese presidential election runoff on Sunday, according to exit polls, while Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi was sentenced to over seven additional years in prison. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appeared headed for a landslide win in snap elections, and a pro-billionaire march in San Francisco drew a small crowd.

In Portugal, exit polls from two national television stations indicated that Seguro, the Socialist Party candidate, won between 67 and 73 percent of the vote, defeating far-right rival André Ventura, who received between 27 and 33 percent. Approximately 11 million people in Portugal and abroad were eligible to vote in the election.

Across the globe, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi received a sentence of more than seven additional years in prison, according to her supporters. Her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, confirmed the sentence, which was handed down Saturday by a Revolutionary Court in Mashhad. Supporters also noted that Mohammadi had been on hunger strike since February 2nd.

In Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ruling bloc was on track to secure a two-thirds majority in the lower house, according to media estimates. This result would be the best for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since the 2017 elections under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Finally, in San Francisco, a march supporting California's billionaires attracted only around three dozen attendees, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The event, organized by Derik Kauffman, was intended to protest the Billionaire Tax Act. Mission Local reported that journalists nearly outnumbered demonstrators at the event, where marchers carried signs with messages like "We ❤️ You Jeffrey Bezos."