Portugal will hold a snap parliamentary election on 10 March, its second in as many years, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has said.
It follows the abrupt resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa amid a corruption investigation.
Yet, the president said he would only dissolve parliament, where the Socialist Party has a majority of seats, after the final vote on the 2024 budget bill, due on 29 November.
The house approved the bill on first reading on 31 October.
Speaking after meeting his consultative body, the Council of State, and talking to the main political parties, President Rebelo de Sousa said allowing MPs to pass the budget will "allow [them] to meet the expectations of many Portuguese".
The budget includes lower income tax rates for the middle class, social benefits focused on the poorest and a 24% iincrease in public investment to spur slowing economic growth.
By law, an election needs to be held within 60 days of the publishing of the presidential decree dissolving parliament.
Mr Costa stepped down as prime minister on Tuesday after prosecutors detained his chief of staff in an investigation into alleged illegalities in his government's handling of lithium and hydrogen projects.
Prosecutors said that Mr Costa was also the target of a related inquiry. He has denied wrongdoing.
