The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, decided this Wednesday to dissolve the Parliament of Madeira and call early elections for May 26. The decision was announced after the State Council and party hearings.
According to a note published on the official website of the President of the Republic after a meeting of the State Council, which lasted about two hours, this advisory body “by the majority of voters gave a positive opinion on the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic.” Autonomous Region of Madeira.
“The President of the Republic therefore decided to dissolve the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira and call elections for May 26, 2024, by signing a decree to that effect, immediately approved by the acting Prime Minister,” this can also be read in the note.
The meeting of the Council of State to discuss the political crisis in Madeira began shortly after 18:00 and ended after 20:00, as Prime Minister António Costa was absent and was represented by Presidential Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva.
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, elected today as President of the Assembly of the Republic after a stormy electoral process that lasted about 24 hours, was late for the meeting because he was still in Parliament when it began to announce the results of the parliamentary elections. .
Leaving the Council of State, the President of the Republic accompanied Aguiar-Branco to a pub to say goodbye to the newly elected one, but did not make any statements to journalists.
The president of the regional government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolheiro, also arrived a little late, and conductor Joana Carneiro, who replaced António Damácio as State Councilor, will not attend today’s meeting as she is abroad for a concert.
In addition to the speech of the Council of State, this morning the President of the Republic also heard from the parties represented in the Parliament of Madeira – BE, PAN, IL, PCP, CDS-PP, Chega, Juntos pelo Povo, PS and PSD.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa regained the power to dissolve the Madeira Legislative Assembly earlier this week, six months after regional elections on September 24, which the PSD/CDU-PP coalition won without an absolute majority.
After a hearing with the head of state, the outgoing Prime Minister of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque (PSD), confirmed that there is no justification for early elections in the region, given that there is a “framework of parliamentary stability” that allows the continuation of executive power.
The entire opposition – PS, JPP, Chega, PCP, IL and BE – returned this Wednesday to defend the need for early elections, with regional Socialist leader Paulo Cafofo saying the president intends to dissolve the assembly and call legislative elections. on May 26th.
The executive parties currently in control, the PSD and the CDS-PP, believed that there was parliamentary stability to allow the regional government to continue with the parliamentary support of the PAN, with which the Social Democrats signed an agreement after the last September elections. to guarantee an absolute majority.
Madeira’s regional government has been in power since early February after the executive president, Social Democrat Miguel Albuquerque, resigned from his post after being accused in a trial over alleged corruption in the archipelago.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.