Exclusive. “Distract the A-list guy”: vice-president of the CDS accused of electoral fraud

Centrist leader suspended his duties but guarantees he is innocent

Diogo Moura, vice-president of the CDS and councilor of the Lisbon Chamber, was accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of two crimes of fraud in elections, aggravated, in the attempted form, for having allegedly sought to manipulate the votes of CDS members in two separate elections from the delegates to the party’s national council, in 2019 and 2021. According to the order to which CNN Portugal had access, the leader knew that a secretary from the Lisbon district was at the voting table and sent several messages to her asking her to introduce votes from activists who did not present themselves at the polling station were cast at the polls.

Thus, on March 18, 2019, Diogo Moura sent the following messages to the board’s secretary: “Distract the guy from List A. Dismiss Tiago Pessoa Filho and Nuno Van Uden and put the votes in the ballot box”; “João Gameiro, if you haven’t come yet”; “And Isabel Galriça Neto”; Download João Condeixa”; Download Hélder Santos Correia”.

Two years later, in the internal elections of April 12, 2021, in which he was interested in one of the competing lists, the CDS leader interacted again with the same secretary via SMS messages: “I’m going to ask you to cast a quick vote, get ready. Do it now and put it in your pocket and I’ll let you know”; “Prepare Sofia Pires Borges’ vote”; “I’ll send you a message to put it in the ballot box when Pedro is distracted”; “Put it in when Gabriel comes out.”

The district secretary never acceded to the requests of Diogo Moura, who at the time was president of the Lisbon council of the CDS. He ended up being denounced, investigated by the PSP and now accused by the 4th section of the DIAP in Lisbon.

Meanwhile, Diogo Moura reacted to CNN Portugal, saying that he was never “condemned” or “judged”, “not even pronounced”. The centrist leader guarantees that he is “absolutely innocent” and that he will prove it.

“The allegations made to me will be refuted, they make no sense and are completely false”, he adds, noting that he has nevertheless decided to suspend his duties as vice-president of the party until the case is clarified.