Portugal's PM resigns amid probe into graft

Portugal's President Rebelo de Sousa held a series of hastily convened meetings with the leaders of the nation's political parties on Wednesday, as he considered his next move after the shock resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

Costa stood down on Tuesday, after his name was linked to a probe into alleged corruption and after investigators searched his official residence and buildings belonging to the environment and infrastructure ministries.

De Sousa will now have to decide whether to dissolve Parliament and call a general election or allow the ruling socialist party to pick a new prime minister and carry on in government.

Costa insisted as he resigned that he had done no wrong but said the scandal of being caught up in a corruption probe meant he could not carry on as leader of the country's government.

"The duties of prime minister are not compatible with any suspicion of my integrity," the Associated Press quoted him as saying. "In these circumstances, I have presented my resignation to the president of the republic."

He said he had a "clear conscience" and "complete trust in justice", which meant he knew he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. However, he said he will not stand again for the job of prime minister.

Costa tendered his resignation after prosecutors probing alleged corruption involving contracts for lithium mining projects and for a green hydrogen plant and data center in Sines, on the country's south coast, detained five people, including his chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, and the prime minister's friend, business consultant Diogo Lacerda Machado.

Both the lithium mines and hydrogen projects are part of Portugal's commitments to the European Union to transition to green sources of energy.

The allegations of corruption involving lithium mining projects led anti-mining groups to call on the government to immediately suspend and review all such projects, the Reuters news agency reported.

Portugal has more than 60,000 metric tons of known lithium reserves and is Europe's largest producer of the metal that is widely used in electric cars and electronic appliances.

The Guardian newspaper said Portugal's public prosecutor's office confirmed Costa was being probed because his name had been mentioned by suspects it questioned during the investigation.

The prosecutor said earlier this year that the investigation would look into alleged misuse of funds and both active and passive corruption by political figures, as well as alleged influence-peddling.

The prosecutor's office said the minister of infrastructure, Joao Galamba, and the head of the environmental agency were among suspects it had spoken to during the investigation.

Costa came to power in 2015 and won a third consecutive term in office in January 2022 following a snap general election.