Chega calls himself an “alternative to the SDP” but admits it is “difficult” to win elections

President Chegi said this Monday that his party is “the alternative to the PSD in Madeira”, admitted that it is “difficult” to win the elections and strengthened his opposition to the government agreement with the Social Democrat Miguel Albuquerque.

“To be honest, the PS, in terms of the polls, is not very far from Chega, and therefore I would say that the alternative to the PSD in Madeira is Chega. Anyone who is going to vote for Chegu must be aware that not voting for the crutch of the PSD or for Miguel Albuquerque means voting for an alternative to the fight against corruption established at the regional level,” said Andre Ventura.

President Chegi spoke to reporters at the party headquarters in Funchal, surrounded by the head of Chegi’s list for the May 26 snap regional elections in Madeira, Miguel Castro.

Faced with statements made by the head of the PSD list, Miguel Albuquerque, before the Madeira Legislative Assembly, which accused him of not keeping his word and of “tavern populism,” André Ventura considered that the Social Democratic candidate was “in a delicate situation.” , because he knows that he will not have a majority even if he wins, and he knows that Chega is a party that is growing quickly.”

“What Dr. Miguel Albuquerque must understand is that Chega is a principled party that does not sell itself, as is actually the case in the Republic, and at the level of the Republic we are firm in our convictions and we have not sold out. And no, we don’t want the left to rule either, but that doesn’t mean we stop looking the other way to everything that happens in Madeira,” he said.

President Chegi emphasized that his position “has nothing to do with procedural laws, it has nothing to do with accusation or non-accusation, it has nothing to do with explanations that are not given, with facts that are reported and that are public. “, given that Miguel Albuquerque is a “bad candidate” and PSD President Luis Montenegro “should have made a demarcation.”

“I am confident that this team under the leadership of Miguel Castro will not go back and therefore we will be firm in our opposition if this is the result. We want to win, but we know it’s difficult. We will grow. It may not be possible to win,” he said.

André Ventura stressed that “under no circumstances will he give the green light” to a governance agreement with the PSD in Madeira, noting that his party’s regional leadership does not need his approval as “it has always worked in great and deep coordination.”

He stressed that the possibility of an agreement with Miguel Albuquerque’s PSD is “absolutely contrary” to the history and values ​​of Chega.

Regarding the governance of the region, Andre Ventura stressed that “the people of Madeira and Porto Santos hold the key to the decision in their hands” and they will vote in the elections on May 26.

President Chega attended these first two days of official campaigning for regional elections in Madeira and plans to return next week, expecting that “it is clear that Chega is showing dynamic growth.”

The Madeira legislature has 14 candidates vying for 47 seats in the regional parliament in one constituency: ADN, BE, PS, Livre, IL, RIR, CDU (PCP/PEV), Chega, CDS-PP, MPT, PSD, PAN , PTP and JPP.

The early elections will take place eight months after the last regional legislative elections, after the President of the Republic dissolved the Parliament of Madeira following the political crisis provoked in January, when the leader of the regional government (PSD/CDU-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, was named as a defendant in the process, in during which suspicions of corruption are being investigated.

In September 2023, the PSD/SDS coalition won without an absolute majority and elected 23 deputies. The PS received 11 mandates, the JPP five, Cega four, and the CDU, IL, PAN (which signed an agreement on parliamentary influence with the Social Democrats) and BE received one mandate each.