For the first time, a candidate for President of the Parliament of Madeira was not elected

The name of the deputy nominated by the PSD for the post of President of the Madeira Legislative Assembly, the centrist José Manuel Rodrigues, did not receive the required number of votes in the first vote this Thursday, a situation that has never happened in the history of the Madeira Parliament. .

José Manuel Rodríguez, who was nominated by the PSD after signing a parliamentary agreement with the SDS-PP, fought for the presidency against Sancha Campanella, proposed by the PS, the largest Madeiran opposition group.

With the required absolute majority of 24 votes out of 47 deputies, José Manuel Rodríguez, who has held this post since 2019, received 20 votes, Sancha Campanela 22, with four empty votes and one zero vote.

In the second round of voting, José Manuel Rodríguez received 23 votes and Sancha Campanela 22, two of them white.

This first plenary meeting of the XIV Legislative Assembly, held as a result of early regional elections on May 26, was interrupted and was convened at a meeting of the Standing Committee to discuss this issue, since the rules are silent in this kind of situation.

Meanwhile, the Standing Committee has scheduled a third vote with the same candidates for 11:30 a.m., while the inauguration of the regional government led by Miguel Albuquerque is still scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

In the first vote, centrist José Manuel Rodríguez received fewer votes than the sum of the parliamentary groups PSD (19 deputies) and SDS-PP (two deputies), parties that signed the agreement on parliamentary influence, while socialist Sancia Campanella collected two more votes. than the sum of the parliamentary groups PS (11 representatives) and JPP (nine representatives), parties that presented the “joint decision” of the government to the representative of the Republic in Madeira, after the elections of 26 May.

However, Ireneu Barreto decided to nominate the PSD to form the government, given that it won the elections and signed a parliamentary agreement with the centrists, but still lacks an absolute majority.

After early legislative elections, seven parties received representation in the Parliament of Madeira, namely PSD (19 deputies), PS (11), PNP (nine), Chega (four), SDS-PP (two), IL. (one) and PAN (one).

This was the first time in the history of Madeira’s autonomous regime since 1976 that two candidates competed in the election of the President of the Legislative Assembly, and the first time that a woman was nominated for this position.

In October 2023, after regional elections in which the PSD/CDU-PP coalition won without an absolute majority, centrist José Manuel Rodríguez, who has served as parliamentary president since 2019, was re-elected by 40 votes. .

Although this is the XV regional government, the XIV Legislative Assembly will begin its work this Thursday, since the first one had two leaders.

The early elections in Madeira took place eight months after the last regional legislative elections, after the President of the Republic dissolved the Madeira parliament following a political crisis triggered in January when the leader of the regional government (PSD/CDU-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, was named as a defendant in the case on investigation of suspicions of corruption.