‘Any party is free to make proposals’: Marcelo denies Chega’s claim on immigration referendum

The President of the Republic this Wednesday refuted his comments on the immigration referendum proposed by Chega, recalling that in the past he had adopted the same behavior regarding other approved initiatives.

“As I already stated publicly at the Porto Book Fair on August 23, the President of the Republic could not and could not and should not comment on any referendum initiative in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, which he mentioned at that time,” reads a note published on the president’s official website. Speaking to journalists this Wednesday, Marcelo said that “any party is free to present proposals” and also stressed the importance of the emigrant communities in the country.

The same note recalls that the President has maintained the same behavior “throughout his mandate, an example of which was the position on the approved initiatives regarding medically assisted death.”

The note comes after Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in response to a question about Chega’s referendum proposal, warned of the difference that exists between the reality of immigration and the narratives that are constructed about it.

“It is very important, when it comes to immigration in a homeland like ours, which has always been an emigration, to know what we are talking about,” he wrote in response to a question from a student at the PSD Summer University, which is taking place in Castelo de Vide, Portalegre.

In his response, included in the Summer University newspaper this Wednesday and distributed to the young people present, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa detailed the figures on immigration to Portugal and concluded that “having these figures means having in mind the difference between reality and speeches or narratives about it.”

The author of the question wanted to know what analysis Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa gives to “Chega’s recent proposal for an immigration referendum” and what constitutional basis it would have.

The same answer is contained in the statement of the presidency, which contains a document with all the answers sent to the publication of the Social Democratic Summer University.

The document does not contain any questions about Chegi’s referendum proposal, but only a general reference to the topic of “immigration” preceding the president’s response.

This Wednesday, in response to Marcelo’s answer, the leader of Chega said that the President of the Republic should take a position of “restraint and caution” regarding the proposal for a referendum on immigration, and announced that he had asked him to hold a hearing on the matter.

“As the body called upon to take the final decision on this issue, but which has not yet received the referendum proposal submitted to the Assembly of the Republic, it must have a great duty of restraint and caution in relation to this same undertaking,” he said.