Legislative. “Portuguese people from abroad are underrepresented in Parliament”

With Luís Montenegro at the helm of the new Executive and the 230 deputies already in office, Portugal entered a new government cycle. Emigrants, even from a distance, wanted to have a voice in this electoral process and sent more than 300 thousand ballots to elect the four parliamentarians who will represent them – an equation that Luís Marques Mendes considers to be unbalanced.

“Portuguese residents abroad are underrepresented. I believe that these voters should have a little greater representation”, argues the former leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in statements to Contacto.

At issue is the fact that, in the legislative elections on March 10, the Ministry of Internal Affairs counted more than 333 thousand votes from diaspora voters – a number considered a record and which practically doubled compared to the 2022 legislative elections, which gave an absolute majority to António Costa.

In view of these results, and to “respond to the desire for participation of Portuguese people living outside the country”, the social democrat admits that “an effort should be made to slightly increase the representation of emigration circles. The political power in Portugal should, so to speak, reciprocate the importance of our diaspora with a gesture of recognition”, he advocates.

Green light in Parliament?

For this suggestion to move forward and, in future legislative elections, Portuguese residents abroad can elect more than four deputies, a ‘green light’ from the Portuguese Parliament is needed.

In this sense, a “broad consensus” of the parties within the government is required. “Making a change of this nature implies support in Parliament from two thirds of the deputies (154), in accordance with the Constitution”, explains the former party leader.

This means that “there must be a convergence of wills, at least between the PS (78) and the AD (80). Therefore, neither PS alone nor AD alone can approve this change”, highlights Marques Mendes, arguing that the understanding should “even be extended further to other parties”.

The same position is defended by the association “TSP – Somos Portugueses”, which “requires the new government, parties and deputies elected to the Assembly of the Republic to strengthen democracy by increasing the representation of Portuguese people living abroad”, reads a statement released after the legislative elections.