José Sócrates was the star turn in a conference debating 'Justice' that was held in Vila Real de Santo António on Saturday.
The Former Prime Minister said that the Socialist Party needed to choose a candidate for the imminent presidential elections, considering that decisive support would return a left wing candidate to take over from Cavaco Silva whose presidency is nearly over.
José Sócrates spoke for nearly an hour at the conference, which was hosted by the president of the local council Luís Gomes who, despite being a Social Democrat, has supported Sócrates in his stance that he had been imprisoned unjustly for 41 weeks on suspicions that have yet to result in a prosecution.
The former prime minister said he wanted the current presidential campaign to be less of a TV sponsored popularity contest, and more of a political campaign run on party lines.
"What is missing in this presidential campaign is not only politics, but also the commitment of the candidates. I regret that the main political parties do not show the commitment that they should be showing in this campaign."
Sócrates argued that "the Socialist Party should make a choice of candidate because it is absolutely crucial for the victory of a leftist candidate," but did not name his own choice.
Polls show that the presidential contest already has narrowed down to just three of the twenty contenders.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa who is preferred by the right-of-centre PSD, the socialist Sampaio de Nóvoa and Maria de Belém, a former socialist government minister.
José Socrates of course took the opportunity to reiterated that he is innocent of all charges leveled against him in Operation Marquês where he is suspected of corruption, tax evasion and abuse of his position.
The former PM criticised the judicial authorities for having arrested him and placing him in custody without presenting evidence or facts even after more than a year.
As for the extraordinary invitation from a PDS mayor for him to speak publically, Socrates recognised the courage shown by Luís Gomes and praised him for taking a stand against the detention of a citizen without supporting facts and assured the audience that he would continue to fight against the abuse of the prosecutor in this case, adding that there were "political motivations" behind his treatment.
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President's Powers
The constitution grants the following powers to the president:
The President exercises the Supreme Commander of the Armed and Grand Master of the Three Orders forces and shall appoint and remove, at the proposal of the Government, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Military Staff Heads of the three branches the Armed Forces. The president can dissolve the Assembly of the Republic, which implies the need to call for new legislative elections and after the implementation of these, the resignation of the government.
The President appoints the Prime Minister given the election results and appoints the other members of the Government by proposal of the Prime Minister. It can, however, dismiss the Government when this is necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of democratic institutions.
Even the government bodies of the autonomous regions may be dissolved by the President, by committing serious acts contrary to the Constitution.
The President declares a state of siege and emergency consultation with the Government and with permission of Parliament.
At the proposal of the Government and with the authorization of Parliament, the President can declare war in the event of actual or imminent aggression and make peace.
The President promulgates or vetoes the promulgation of signing laws, decree-laws, regulatory decrees and other decrees of the Government.
In the area of its powers in international relations, the President of the Republic ratifies international treaties.
The President decides on the referendum whose task is put to him by Parliament.
The President of the Republic may request the Constitutional Court prior review of the constitutionality of the norms of international agreements or decrees that you have been sent for promulgation as an organic law, law or ordinance.
The President shall appoint and remove, in some cases a proposal from the Government, holders of important state organs such as the Republic of Representatives for the autonomous regions, the President of the Court and the Attorney General, five members of the Council of State and two members of the Supreme Judicial Council.
The president appoints ambassadors and special envoys, following proposal by the Government, and believe the foreign diplomatic representatives.
The President of the Republic after consultation with the Government, pardons and commute sentences.
Election
Under the Portuguese Constitution adopted in 1976, in the wake of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, the President is elected to a five-year term; there is no limit to the number of terms a president may serve, but a president who serves two consecutive terms may not serve again in the next five years after the second term finishes or in the following five years after his resignation. The official residence of the Portuguese President is the Belém Palace.
The President is elected in a two-round system: if no candidate reaches 50% of the votes during the first round, the two candidates with the most votes face each other in a second round held two weeks later. However, the second round has only been needed once, during the 1986 presidential election.
To date, all of the elected presidents since the Carnation Revolution have served for two consecutive terms, and presidents consistently rank as the most popular political figure in the country. Recently, however, the popularity of the current president Cavaco Silva has plummeted, making him the second-least popular political figure in the country, just above the Prime Minister, and the first Portuguese President after 1974 to have a negative popularity.
If the president dies or becomes incapacitated while in office, the President of the Assembly assumes the office with restricted powers until a new president can be inaugurated following fresh elections.
