Chega Madeira says he is satisfied with early elections and reiterates that he does not support the PSD executive

The leader of Chega Madeira, Miguel Castro, expressed satisfaction with the scheduling of early regional elections, considering that it is necessary to give the people a voice, and refused to support a Government led by Miguel Albuquerque.

“That’s how it is in democracy, we have to give the people a voice and now it will be the Madeirans and Porto Santos with the legitimacy to choose their representatives to govern the destinies of the region”, said Miguel Castro, speaking to the Lusa agency.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, decided to dissolve the Madeira Assembly and call early regional elections for May 26, after listening to the nine parties with parliamentary seats and presiding over the Council of State.

The Government of Madeira, part of the PSD/CDS-PP coalition, with the parliamentary support of the PAN, has been in management since the beginning of February, after the president of the executive, the social democrat Miguel Albuquerque, asked to resign from his position after having been named a defendant as part of a process in which suspicions of corruption in the archipelago are investigated.

To the Lusa agency, the Chega leader also said he hopes there will be “a new structure in parliament”, with “the party forces” that voters choose, in order to guarantee stability in the region.

Regarding agreements with other parties, Miguel Castro reiterated that Chega will run alone in the elections and that he does not support a possible executive led by the PSD.

“We are a party that fights hard for transparency, for the fight against corruption, cronyism and, if we have been saying that this PSD of Miguel Albuquerque is a PSD that is in some way fatally wounded by these suspicious situations […]obviously we are not going to enter into any agreement with someone who is representing a party that initially leaves so much suspicion”, he maintained.

“We will see if there are other forces that can grow and see what the best solution will be, but with Miguel Albuquerque’s PSD we have already said no”, he added, without specifying parties.

Miguel Castro assured, however, that he also does not support a Regional Government led by the PS, pointing out that Chega fights socialism and that it does not follow the ideas and principles of the socialists.

Regarding whether he will once again be head of the party’s list for the May regionals, Miguel Castro said that the issue has not yet been discussed internally, but that in “principle” he is repeating his candidacy.

According to a note published on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, after the Council of State, which lasted around two hours, this consultative body “gave a favorable opinion, by a majority of voters, to the dissolution” of the regional parliament.

“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”, reads the note .

The entire opposition – PS, JPP, Chega, PCP, IL and BE – once again defended the holding of early elections.

The executive parties, PSD and CDS-PP, considered that there was parliamentary stability to allow the continuation of the Regional Government, with the parliamentary support of the PAN, with which the Social Democrats signed an understanding after last September’s elections, to guarantee the absolute majority.

The PAN’s sole deputy, Mónica Freitas, argued that it is up to the PSD and Madeirans to assess whether the social democrat Miguel Albuquerque has the legitimacy to lead the executive.