The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is expected to formalize his resignation from the government this Thursday evening, which will be limited to managerial actions, as he told reporters on Saturday.
This formalization comes a month after Prime Minister António Costa submitted his resignation on November 7 to the President of the Republic, who immediately accepted it and subsequently decided to dissolve Parliament and call early legislative elections for March 10. .
Earlier this Thursday afternoon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and António Costa will meet at the presentation of the revised and expanded edition of Mario Soares’ book “Portugal Amordasado – Depoimento sobre os anos do fascism” at Calouste Gulbenkian. Foundation in Lisbon on the day the former President of the Republic would have turned 99 years old.
The resignation of the government “due to the acceptance of the resignation presented by the Prime Minister” is formalized by a decree signed by the President of the Republic and published in the Official Gazette.
On Saturday, during a visit to the Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome in Lisbon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he intends to formalize the government’s resignation on the night of December 7 to still allow the approval of “some important votes for the Plan for Recovery and Resilience (PRR) )” in the Council of Ministers and that the dismissal decree will come into force “on Friday the 8th.”
Regarding the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic, the Head of State confirmed that the decree will be announced on January 15, the last possible day of the legislative elections, which will take place on March 10, taking into account that, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and according to the electoral law, this must take place on the period between 55 and 60 days before the date chosen for the election.
According to paragraph 5 of Article 186 of the Constitution, “after his resignation, the government will limit itself to carrying out actions strictly necessary to ensure the management of state affairs.”
Prime Minister António Costa submitted his resignation to the President of the Republic on November 7 in connection with a judicial investigation into the installation of a data center in Sines and lithium and hydrogen plants, prompting prosecutors to open an independent investigation in the Supreme Court in which he is being prosecuted.
The head of state immediately accepted the resignation of the prime minister, although without formalizing it, and over the next two days heard the parties with seats in parliament and the State Council.
After the State Council meeting ended on November 9, he announced that he had decided to dissolve parliament and call early legislative elections for March 10.
In an address to the country, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa explained that he would delay the formal process of dissolving the government until “early December” to ensure the final approval of the 2023 state budget and its entry into force.
According to the President of the Republic, it was necessary to “guarantee that irreplaceable economic and social stability that the preliminary vote on the state budget for 2024 provides.”
“The approval of the budget will allow us to meet the expectations of many Portuguese and to monitor the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which does not and cannot stop when the government takes over or later with the dissolution of the government. Assembly of the Republic,” he explained.
The 2024 State Budget was approved in a final global vote in the Assembly of the Republic on November 29, with an absolute majority of PS deputies voting in favor, individual PAN and Livre deputies abstaining, and no votes from the remaining benches.
Article 195, paragraph 1, paragraph b) of the Constitution establishes that “the acceptance by the President of the Republic of the resignation submitted by the Prime Minister” is one of the circumstances “involving the resignation of the Government.”
The Prime Minister and his respective leader remain in office until his successor and the new government take office, and only then are they dismissed.
According to Article 186 of the Constitution, “in the event of resignation from the government, the Prime Minister of the outgoing government shall resign on the day of the appointment and inauguration of the new Prime Minister,” and “the functions of the remaining members of the Government of the Government begin with his inauguration and terminate with his resignation or the resignation of the Prime Minister.” .
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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