Portugal's Estado Novo government was initially tolerated by its NATO partners due to its anti-communist stance. In elections the government candidate usually ran unopposed; the opposition used the limited political freedoms allowed during the brief election period to protest against the regime, withdrawing their candidates before the election to deny the regime political legitimacy. In 1958, General Humberto Delgado (a former member of the regime) stood against the regime's presidential candidate, Américo Tomás, and refused to allow his name to be withdrawn.