The CDS-PP president said on Tuesday evening that there was “never any agreement” between his party and Chega, but stressed that he was and would be ready to confirm the vice-presidential candidates of the four largest parties.
Speaking to journalists in parliament, after three unsuccessful attempts to elect the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Nuno Melo recalled that the SDS-PP returned to parliament in this legislative body after two years of absence, but, in his opinion, “landed” in a parallel reality.”
“Today in this parliament there were those who sent a sad signal to the country. What would have been normal, urgent elections, turned into a circus,” he criticized.
Asked if he said, as Andre Ventura said, that there was no agreement between Chega and AD, Nuno Melo stressed that he speaks only as president of the CDS-PP.
“I said that there was no agreement with the SDU-PP, I am the president of the SDU, and there was no agreement with the SDU, and there is no need for that,” he said.
Nuno Melo said he “always said that I would vote for” the candidate nominated by the AD as the political force with the most votes, and for the vice-presidents of the four major parties.
“Achieving this goal does not require agreements, it is a matter of words and will to solve problems,” he said.
In the new elections scheduled for 12:00, Nuno Melo said he would stick to this position and refused to say whether AD should support candidate José Pedro Aguiar-Branco.
“This can be overcome in a simple way, if we take into account that party interests cannot prevail over national interests,” he said, adding that “adults are needed in the room” and that SDS-PP, SDP and IL have this position.
On Tuesday, parliament tried three times to elect a new president of the Assembly of the Republic, but was unsuccessful because no candidate received the required absolute majority.
The first elections for the President of Parliament, held by secret ballot, began at 15:00, with only the Social Democratic deputy José Pedro Aguiar-Branco as a candidate.
At 17:00, the first failure of the election for the President of the Assembly of the Republic was announced, as the former Minister of Defense received 89 votes in favor, 134 empty and seven zero.
About an hour later, the SDP withdrew its candidacy, but at 7 p.m. the former defense minister resubmitted it.
At the same time, the PS decided to nominate Francisco Assis and Chega the candidacy of Manuela Tender.
In the first round of the second vote, the Socialist won by a small margin (90 to 88 for Aguiar-Branco), and Chegi’s deputy was left behind with 49 votes.
In the second round – the third attempt at elections – another failure was repeated with very similar results: 90 votes for Assis and 88 for Aguiar-Branco, with neither achieving the required absolute majority in favor.
Parliament will meet again on Wednesday at 12:00 for a new vote on the position of President of the Assembly of the Republic, with nominations due until 11:00.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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