The leader of the populist right-wing Chega party, André Ventura, has argued that the process to elect new judges to Portugal’s Constitucional Court “must begin immediately, without further delay”.
Chega, the current opposition party in Portugal’s parliament, has requested that the conference of parliamentary leaders, currently scheduled for 20th May, be brought forward to this Wednesday, 13th May, despite the fact that the Parliamentary leader José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, is on an official visit to Luxembourg.
Reacting to the announcement that the President of the Constitutional Court, José João Abrantes, intends to resign, a move Ventura said “raises legal doubts”, given that Abrantes stated he would only step down once his successor has been elected, the Chega leader said it was “incomprehensible to ordinary people” that the appointment of constitutional judges should “depend on whims and backstage manoeuvres so that the PS can secure one more seat than it ought to have”, referring to the country’s Socialist Party.
“Even when the PS lacks the votes, it somehow still gets the seats,” Ventura said, speaking of the fact that the Assembly of the Republic must now elect four judges instead of previously expected three. Under this new scenario, whilst the Partido Social Democrata (PSD) would nominate two candidates and Chega would put forward one, Brites Lameiras, the Partido Socialista (PS) would likewise also be able to appoint a nominee.
Amongst the vacancies are two PSD nominations, Gonçalo Almeida Ribeiro and José Teles Pereira, who left the Palácio Ratton at the end of their respective mandates, and two linked to the Socialists, Joana Fernandes Costa and José João Abrantes.
Even if the request to bring forward the leaders’ conference is rejected, Ventura insisted on the “swift election of the outstanding Constitutional Court judges”, arguing that the prolonged deadlock “projects the worst possible image of the justice system and of the institutions”. He renewed criticism of both the PSD and PS, claiming the “country is at a standstill because two parties refuse to stop doing deals between themselves”.
The Chega leader also stressed that recent Constitutional Court rulings, including the decision declaring unconstitutional the ancillary penalty of loss of nationality for criminals of foreign birth with Portuguese citizenship, demonstrate the need for constitutional revision. He pointed to objectives such as the “fight against corruption”, “uncontrolled immigration”, and what he described as the “partisan capture of the political system”.
Source: LUSA
