Representative of the Republic of Madeira begins participatory hearings on Wednesday

The representative of the Republic of Madeira will begin hearing on Wednesday representatives of the nine parties holding seats in the regional parliament following the resignation of Madeira government president Miguel Albuquerque, his office said on Tuesday.

The note, published on Tuesday, indicated that Counselor Judge Ireneu Barreto will hear three sides on Wednesday, four the next day and will conclude on Friday with hearings from representatives of the PS and PSD.

Hearings take place in order of increasing parliamentary representation, starting with the Bloc de Esquerda (BE) at 15:00, followed by the People-Animais-Natureza (PAN) party – the party that entered into a parliamentary protection agreement with the outgoing Madeira government (PSD ). / CDS) to ensure an absolute majority in the Legislative Assembly – and the Liberal Initiative (IL).

On Thursday morning Ireneu Barreto hosts the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and CDS/PP, at 15:00 it hosts Chega and ends the day with Juntos Pelo Povo (JPP).

On Friday it will be the turn of the PS (10am) – the opposition party with the largest representation (it holds 11 of the 47 seats in the Madeira hemisphere) – and the PSD, the largest parliamentary group with 20 deputies.

After this round of hearings, the representative will decide on the situation in the government in Madeira, since the President of the Republic can only intervene in the process from March 24, when the Legislative Assembly will complete its six months of mandate provided by law.

The hypothesis is to accept the proposal of the majority parties to replace the regional executive or maintain the governing government until March 24, when the regional parliament could be dissolved by the President of the Republic and early elections could be called, as demanded by the Madeiran opposition. .

On Monday, the representative of the Republic, Ireneu Barreto, officially accepted the petition for the dismissal of the President of the XIV Regional Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, who was named as a defendant in an investigation related to suspicions of corruption.

The decree of dismissal of Miguel Albuquerque was published in the Diário da República and took effect “immediately upon publication”, at around 18:00 on the same day that the regional executive took over.

The PSD and CDS-PP, which govern the region in a coalition with the parliamentary support of the PAN, are pushing for the appointment of a new executive leader, believing that the parliamentary majority has the legitimacy to support a new regional government, thus seeking to avoid elections in advance, as required by the PS/Madeira.

Following the official resignation of the regional government’s president, the Madeira parliament canceled the debate on this year’s budget, and the votes of no confidence in the regional government (PSD/CDS-PP) presented by the PS and Chega from the outside withdraw these initiatives.

On January 24, the Judicial Police (SP) carried out some 130 searches at home and outside, mainly in Madeira, but also in the Azores and various parts of the continent, as part of the process of investigating suspicions of active and passive actions. corruption, participation in economic activities in business, malfeasance, receiving or offering of undue advantage, abuse of power and undue influence.

The operation affected the president of the regional government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, who was accused and resigned from his position.

Following the searches, the SP detained the then president of the Chamber of Funchal, Pedro Calado (PSD), who also resigned from his post, the head of the AFA construction group, Avelino Fariña, and the main shareholder of the construction-related group. Industry Socicorreia, Custódio Correia.