Early election looms as Portugal's government loses confidence vote

LISBON — Portugal's center-right minority government collapsed on Tuesday after losing a vote of confidence, with the country now likely to head into its third early general election in as many years.

Lawmakers voted 142-88, with zero abstentions, against the motion of confidence that was presented last Thursday by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who has been in the job for 11 months. He called the vote after the opposition questioned his integrity over the dealings of a consultancy firm he founded and is now run by his sons.

Montenegro, 52, said at the start of a parliamentary debate on the vote of confidence that "I have committed no crime".