Newly elected Portuguese socialist party leader Pedro Nuno Santos looks on during his winning speech at the party headquarters in Lisbon on Dec 17, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

LISBON — Portuguese lawmaker Pedro Nuno Santos was elected Saturday evening as the new secretary-general of Portugal's ruling Socialist Party (PS) with 62 percent of the votes from party members.

Santos will be PS's prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming legislative elections on March 10, 2024, with the party holding a majority in the Portuguese Parliament.

As an economist, Santos served as minister of Infrastructure and Housing in the Portuguese government between 2019 and 2022

In his victory speech, Santos said that the "PS has been, is, and will continue to be the largest political party in Portugal."

READ MORE: Portugal's president dissolves Parliament, calls snap elections

As an economist, Santos served as minister of Infrastructure and Housing in the Portuguese government between 2019 and 2022.

The PS electoral process started after Antonio Costa's resignation as prime minister on Nov. 7. Costa became the subject of a judicial inquiry initiated by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the Supreme Court of Justice.

READ MORE: Portuguese president dissolves government, calls snap elections

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa immediately accepted the prime minister's resignation and dissolved the parliament, calling for early legislative elections.