The Chairman of the Parliament believed that the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic empowered him to exclude deputies from plenary sessions in case of offenses or systematic interference, even with the help of representatives of the authorities.
According to the summary of the meeting of the Conference of Leaders, which took place last Wednesday, the President of the Assembly of the Republic told the parties that “the personal insult and systematic interference of those who preside over the plenary meeting, or the equally systematic insult of the leaders of the state or other figures”, casts doubt on the “continuity plenary session with the presence of the offender”.
“Article 16 of the Rules places on the President of the Assembly of the Republic the responsibility of maintaining order and discipline, using whatever means he deems necessary, and this means, in the limit, ordering the exclusion from the plenary meeting, in other cases of the meeting in question, of the offender to be able to resort to authorities to enforce this order in case of non-compliance,” the summary reads.
Augusto Santos Silva emphasized that in the process of revising the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic, anyone who believes that this is “excessive power” can act, and anyone who believes that “there should be another type of sanctions.”
These statements were made at a meeting in which Santos Silva announced that he would immediately exclude Chega from delegations visiting foreign parliaments following an incident at a welcoming session for Lula da Silva on 25 April.
According to a memo released at the time by the office of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Santos Silva informed the conference of leaders that “every time his travels on official visits to other parliaments involve contacts with heads of state, heads of government or ministers of foreign affairs”, there will no longer be be accompanied by members of the Chega.
Santos Silva considered that by their practice the representatives of the Chega had demonstrated that they did not guarantee “100%” that they respected these high figures and, in general, the obligations of respect and courtesy that had long characterized and distinguished Portugal’s external actions. “.
“This criterion is applied immediately and means the exclusion of any representative of the Chega parliamentary group,” the note says.
At this conference of leaders it was also determined that the next meeting on May 10 will discuss two incidents involving members of Chega: one on April 12 with the Vice President of the Parliament, Edite Estrela, and the second related to the Lula da Silva welcome session.
The summary of the leaders’ conference adds that Santos Silva, speaking of Chega’s attitude in the session towards Lula da Silva’s salutation, believed that “to stand up during the speeches of the speakers, display offensive posters, paw, interrupt and disrespect the basic rules of courtesy in relations between states represented an unimaginable humiliation for Portugal.”
At this conference of leaders it was also determined that the next meeting on May 10 will discuss two incidents involving members of Chega: one on April 12 with the Vice President of the Parliament, Edite Estrela, and the second related to the Lula da Silva welcome session.
According to the summary, Santos Silva stated that he “intended to hear the vice presidents and leaders about these facts and in general about questions of conduct and discipline in the plenary, in a special and autonomous point at the next conference of leaders.”
The parliamentary leader of the Block de Esquerda, Pedro Filipe Soares, asked that this discussion also address issues related to “acts of racism, machismo and restrictions on the freedom of deputies, which have been reported.”
PSD Parliamentary Group President Joaquim Miranda Sarmento asked to discuss the news, which referred to “insults in plenary sessions and behavior in the corridors of the São Bento Palace”, which was supported by PAN and Livre deputies.
On this occasion, the parliamentary leader of Chega, Pedro Pinto, said that he had not received “any complaints” against the party’s deputies and did not know that they were represented in the parliamentary committee on transparency and the statute of deputies.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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