LISBON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Monday announced his decision to run for reelection, less than two months before the presidential elections.

Speaking to journalists, the president guaranteed that he remains a "proud Portuguese, convinced Catholic, admitted Republican, determined social-democratic," after five years in office.

That "each Portuguese counts" remains his simple and direct objective, commitment and purpose, he said.

"I am a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic: because we have a pandemic to face, because we have an economic and social crisis to overcome, because we have a unique opportunity to, in addition to overcoming the crisis, change Portugal for the better," he said.

The president said he would not "go out in the middle of a demanding and painful walk," because it would be "evading responsibilities," even if that meant "personal or family comfort."

"I wanted to call the election as President before moving forward as a citizen, and above all in the face of the worsening pandemic in the autumn, I wanted to make essential decisions about the declaration of the second state of emergency," he added.

With the president's reelection announcement, there are already nine pre-candidates for the race scheduled for Jan. 24, 2021. The applications will only be valid after they are formally accepted by the Constitutional Court, following the presentation and verification of a minimum 7,500 signatures of supporting voter-citizens.

Rebelo de Sousa, a retired law professor, won the presidential elections in Jan. 24, 2016, with 52 percent of all votes.