LISBON, Nov 4 (CGTN) - Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday announced the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early general elections on January 30.

In a nationally televised speech, the president made the statement in a bid to solve a political crisis that erupted as a result of parliament's rejection of the Socialist Party government's 2022 state budget.

It was the first time in 45 years of the Portuguese Parliament that the budget was not approved.

Rebelo de Sousa had threatened before the debate that he would dissolve parliament and call early elections if the budget was rejected.

In his speech on Thursday, he told the nation that he took the decision because the divergences in the government's parliamentary support base had become "insurmountable," and "there was no third-way" alternative to go with the current parliament.

He said the matter was not "a punctual rejection, of circumstance, due to minor disagreements."

"It was fundamental, of substance, due to major differences, in relevant social areas, in the budget or beyond, such as social security or labor legislation," Rebelo de Sousa said.

The Constitution of Portugal provides that early elections should take place within 60 days of the dissolving of parliament.

The political crisis, the first of its kind since the country entered a democracy in 1974, was caused by the disagreement between the Socialist Party and its traditional ally the Portuguese Communist Party and the Left Bloc.

It will be the third time in the space of a year that the country's nine million voters will be called to the polls, following municipal elections in September and a presidential ballot in January.