Ventura asks authors of manifesto on justice to respect separation of powers – Politics

The president of Chega, André Ventura, this Friday advised the subscribers of the manifesto on justice to “read a little more” and to “take the separation of powers seriously”, refusing to limit the Public Ministry (MP) and the police .

“I advised Doctor Ferro Rodrigues, Doctor Augusto Santos Silva, Doctor Rui Rio, who I also saw his name in this manifesto, to read a little more and take the separation of powers seriously”, said André Ventura, in Beja.

Speaking to journalists about the manifesto on the sidelines of a visit to the Ovibeja agricultural fair, the Chega leader admitted that “justice has to be discussed”, but rejected doing so “based on a specific case and to limit or condition the powers of the MP and the Judiciary Police”.

“I deeply disagree with this idea that when there is a case that involves politicians, in one way or another, directly or indirectly, with more or less evidence, politicians come together to condition justice”, he highlighted.

Recognizing that this may not even be the spirit of the authors, Ventura stressed that “it is this image that passes”.

“Other people, including politicians, businesspeople, citizens, are waiting six, seven, 10 years and, suddenly, as this has affected two top-tier politicians, the former prime minister and a president of the regional government, we want to immediately launch mechanisms that will condition the MP”, he said.

Alternatively, the president of Chega argued that the reform for the justice sector has to be carried out in relation to the “unlimited resources that exist in Portuguese law” and the “ability to limit deadlines so that there are no mega trials”.

“That’s where we should focus,” he stressed.

Ventura also said that he heard with “great concern the words of Pedro Nuno Santos”, who, also on a visit to Ovibeja, considered the manifesto of 50 personalities on justice “very welcome”.

“I find it very strange that the leader of the Socialist Party sees this as a good manifesto”, as “it is the biggest attack on justice since the Casa Pia process in Lisbon and that is why they will not pass by us”, he added.

The president of Chega insisted that, if PS and PSD come together to carry out this reform, the party he leads “will take to the Constitutional Court a request for preventive inspection of this diploma, because it directly violates the separation of powers”.

A group of 50 personalities made an appeal to the President of the Republic, Government and parliament to take initiatives that, respecting the independence of the courts, the autonomy of the MP and the guarantees of judicial defense, resolve the “strangulations and dysfunctions that since have long undermined its effectiveness and public legitimacy”.

The petition is signed by, among others, the former presidents of parliament Augusto Santos Silva, Ferro Rodrigues and Mota Amaral, the former leaders of the PSD and CDS, Rui Rio and Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos, the former ministers Leonor Beleza, David Justino, Fernando Negrão, António Vitorino, José Vieira da Silva, António Barreto, Correia de Campos, Alberto Costa, Pinto Ribeiro, Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues and the former president of the Constitutional Court João Caupers.

In statements to journalists, André Ventura also said he hoped that in a possible amending budget the Government would include “the immediate regularization of the debts that the State owes to farmers, which are very high”.

The visit by the president of Chega began around 30 minutes after the start of that of the secretary general of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, and both delegations were very close, without the two party leaders greeting each other.