The President of the Republic has already resorted to a political veto 33 times, after which on Monday he exercised this right in relation to two parliamentary decrees amending the statutes of the bar and nurses’ associations.
In seven years and nine months as head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has vetoed most parliamentary laws, a total of 27 decrees, including two that were vetoed this Monday.
These two decrees will be returned to the Assembly of the Republic approximately one month before its dissolution, which is to be issued by the President of the Republic on January 15th.
According to the Constitution, in the presence of a political veto, the Assembly of the Republic can confirm the vote of the absolute majority of the deputies currently in power – 116 out of 230, in which case the President of the Republic will have to publish the diploma.
The previous political veto by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa took place on December 7 and affected two other parliamentary decrees that change the statutes of the professional orders of architects and engineers.
Earlier, on October 27, he vetoed the decree-law regulating the reprivatization of TAP. This was the sixth time he had exercised this power in relation to government legislation.
A year after his election in the 2016 presidential elections, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa described himself as a president of the republic who does not turn to the Constitutional Court as “a kind of protection” but exercises a political veto “without any complex.” , in the face of strong differences.
In Monday’s decisions, he used the political veto 33 times: three times in 2016, two in 2017, six in 2018, five in 2019, six in 2020, three in 2021 and eight in 2023.
Moreover, he vetoed five decrees due to their unconstitutionality, declared by the Constitutional Court.