LISBON - The leader of Portugal's centre-right Democratic Alliance, Luis Montenegro, said on Wednesday he expected the president to invite him to form a new government once the remaining ballots from abroad have been counted following a parliamentary election on March 10.

The Alliance, which won by a slim margin and landed well short of a working majority, is prepared to govern on its own, he said. That would require negotiating support for legislation in parliament on a case-by-case basis. REUTERS