Stop the PAN abstaining from voting on the government program in the Azores

Chega and PAN will abstain from voting on the government program for the Autonomous Region of the Azores. The regional parliament is preparing to approve the document presented by José Manuel Boleiro.

Jose Pacheco from Chega spoke to journalists before the start of the parliamentary session where the vote will take place in Horta on the island of Faial.

After the regional legislative assemblies on February 4, the PS with 23 elected deputies and the BU with one announced their vote against the XIV Regional Government Program (PSD/CDS/PPM).

If the five Chega deputies had also voted against, there would have been an absolute majority (29 mandates) sufficient to defeat the document, which would have meant the resignation of the executive led by Social Democrat José Manuel Boleiro.

Initially, the Chega, the third most voting political force in the Azores, made the direction of the vote dependent on the party’s entry into the executive branch, but this demand was not implemented. However, he began to recognize an understanding with the SDP, the largest party in the coalition.

The Legislative Assembly, where the PSD/CDU/PPM coalition has 26 seats, also consists of an MP from IL and one from PAN.

After the 2020 elections, in which the PS won but lost its absolute majority, the SDP, SDS and PPM formed an alternative government and signed an agreement on parliamentary influence with Chega. SDP also signed an agreement with IL, which terminated it in March 2023.

At the end of that year, Chega abstained from voting on the 2024 budget, which contributed to the document’s failure. The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, then decided to call early elections for February 4.