Socialist Party's leader Antonio Costa dries his forehead with a handkerchief as he addresses his supporters after loosing the general elections at the Altis Hotel in Lisbon, on October 4, 2015. (AFP)
Lisbon:
The leader of Portugal's opposition Socialists, former Lisbon mayor Antonio Costa, on Sunday conceded defeat in a general election billed as a referendum on four years of harsh austerity policies, as near-complete results gave the ruling centre-right coalition a clear lead.
"The Socialist Party did not achieve its stated objectives, and I take full political and personal responsibility," Costa told supporters in the capital. But he added: "I will not be resigning."
"The Socialist Party did not achieve its stated objectives, and I take full political and personal responsibility," Costa told supporters in the capital. But he added: "I will not be resigning."
