If the Assembly of the Republic has just emerged from a crisis, another is now beginning: the Council of State gave on Tuesday night “a favorable opinion, by a majority of voters, to the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira.” The election will take place 15 days before the election for the European Parliament.
The note from the Presidency of the Republic states that, following hearings with the parties and the State Council, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa decided to call elections in that autonomous region for May 26, two weeks before the European elections. The note was released after Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa heard the parties with regional parliamentary representation and the State Council, as required by the Constitution.
“The President of the Republic thus decided to dissolve the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira and schedule the elections for May 26, 2024, having signed the respective decree, immediately endorsed by the acting Prime Minister”. This is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s response to the political crisis in Madeira due to a judicial investigation involving the social democrat and government leader, Miguel Albuquerque.
In hearings with the President of the Republic, the majority of the nine parties with parliamentary seats heard by the President asked for early elections to be held. PSD and CDS, which form the current Madeiran Government, spoke out against it.
Paulo Cafôfo, leader of PS-Madeira, anticipated the head of state and, after the audience with the President, ended up revealing that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had expressed to him his intention to schedule early elections in Madeira, which will take place on the 26th. of May.
“We, in this field, are in agreement and in tune with the President of the Republic, whether in the reasons or in the decisions. And the President of the Republic conveyed to us his intention to dissolve the Regional Assembly and to call elections for the May 26th. And, therefore, we leave here satisfied”, stated Cafofo.
Cafôfo held the PSD, CDS-PP and PAN, which “gave the Government a hand” in a parliamentary advocacy agreement, responsible for the current situation of political instability in Madeira and argued that the voice and responsibility must be returned to the Madeirans.” . “This mega-judicial process, which affected the entire region, is due to years and years of favoritism, of ‘friendships’, of cronies, who created a network of interests that led to this corruptive pact. And the entire party leadership is held responsible for this corruptive pact”, he considered.
The PS/Madeira leader also considered that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa would have “a coherent attitude” in the parallelism between the national elections after the dismissal of the Prime Minister, António Costa, who “wasn’t even accused” and headed “a Government that was even an absolute majority”, and the situation in Madeira.
“I will be a candidate”, says Albuquerque
Upon leaving the audience with Marcelo, Miguel Albuquerque, leader of the PSD and the Government, said he was “not afraid” of elections, but again stated that the current Government was capable of continuing in office. Albuquerque stated once again that, if early elections are held, he will be the head of the list for the PSD.
“In the current framework, we conveyed our position to the President of the Republic. The first is to say that at this moment there is a framework of parliamentary stability in Madeira and that allows the continuation of the government”, stated Miguel Albuquerque, highlighting that the regional elections took place in September 2023 and that “this confidence in the national legislative elections was ratified” March 10th.
Asked about his status as a defendant, Miguel Albuquerque argued that this status should be “a benefit for those being investigated” and that anyone in that position “does not have to resign from political positions”.
Marcelo listened to the parties after the President of the Republic regained, at the beginning of the week, the power to dissolve the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, as six months had already passed since the regional elections of September 24th, which the PSD/CDS coalition -PP won without an absolute majority.
The Regional Government of Madeira has been in management since the beginning of February, after the president of the executive, the social democrat Miguel Albuquerque, resigned from his position after being accused as part of a process in which suspicions of corruption in the archipelago.
Following the dismissal of Miguel Albuquerque, formally accepted on February 5th and which led to the fall of the PSD/CDS-PP executive, the representative of the Republic, Ireneu Barreto, announced that he would keep the Government of Madeira in management until the head of State decide whether to dissolve the Legislative Assembly. With Lusa
