Chega proposes immigration referendum as condition for OE2025 viability

Chega will propose to parliament to hold a referendum on immigration, as proposed Morning mailThe party chairman announced the proposal on Tuesday, acknowledging that it would be “another condition” for next year’s state budget to be approved.

At a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Lisbon, André Ventura announced that “Chega will propose in Parliament a referendum, the date of which will be determined jointly by the various sovereign bodies, but which should be scheduled for the beginning of next year, in January.”

The Chegi leader noted that the aim is to call on the Portuguese to comment on whether there should be an “annual limit on immigrants in the country, previously determined by law, which can be revised periodically” and whether they “agree or disagree with the definition of quotas, previously classified by specialization and economic needs.”

It is one of “three major unavoidable proposals to ensure the viability of the 2025 state budget” that the party announced on Tuesday. Chega also wants “financial strengthening of border controls” and a review of “subsidies and social support paid to foreigners.”

André Ventura insisted on the idea he defended that “no one should receive social benefits in Portugal before subtracting five years for the Portuguese social security system.”

Asked directly whether these three proposals were conditions for the approval of the state budget, Ventura replied that “they are conditions for budget negotiations” and emphasized the referendum.

“If the government does not hold a referendum, it will be difficult for us to vote for the state budget, and this is what the government needs to pass the budget,” he went on to say, noting that this is “more than the conditions for approving the state budget” and others that the party determines.

The Chegi leader said that “the call for a referendum should not even raise any objections, since it calls on the Portuguese to go to the polls so that they themselves can make the worst decision,” and said he had already informally contacted the PSD.

“We are making every effort to ensure that there are political conditions for the approval of the budget,” he said, expressing readiness to “adjust the proposals” and “discuss and formulate them.”

Andre Ventura argued that “the country feels migration pressure in various aspects: in terms of housing, health, safety and crime, but also in terms of diversity and cultural pressure.”

“Portugal must welcome those who seek it, protect them and integrate them into its economy and economic growth. However, this does not mean that Portugal can find itself at the mercy of a completely open door, without any control and with a drama that is growing and growing every day in many of our regions,” he added.

Believing that “immigration should neither be a taboo nor an object of political abuse,” the Chegi leader said the referendum represented an opportunity for “a very lively debate on this topic.”

According to the provisions of the Constitution, “citizen voters registered in the national territory may be called upon to express their opinion directly, on a mandatory basis, through a referendum, by decision of the President of the Republic, on the proposal of the Assembly of the Republic or the Government on issues within their respective competences, in the cases and under the conditions provided for by the Constitution and the law.”

Tighter immigration controls are one of the slogans of Chegi, who is calling for a demonstration on September 21 “against uncontrolled immigration and lack of safety on the streets.”