The leader of Chega, André Ventura, described the upcoming elections as a “trial by fire,” setting the objective of “winning councils across the country.” He expressed confidence that the party will “win the local elections” after securing fourth place nationally in the September 2021 municipal elections.
The expectation is that local elections will reflect the party’s progress in subsequent electoral acts, which have seen Chega become the second-largest political force in the Assembly of the Republic, with representation in the European Parliament and regional legislative assemblies.
To achieve this, the party aims to present candidates in every municipality across the country, as confirmed by André Ventura and the party’s local election coordination team.
Following Ventura’s call for parliamentary members to be available for the electoral challenge on October 12, Chega’s involvement in these elections is characterized by having all its deputies (excluding the leader) as the top candidates for executive and municipal assembly positions, as confirmed by the party’s local election directorate.
Among the 59 deputy top candidates, 44 are running for mayoral positions, meaning they would have to resign from the Assembly of the Republic if elected, due to incompatibility of roles. The remaining 15 members are leading lists for municipal assemblies.
The party explained that this strategy is intended to bring “the participation of deputies into local governance, offering local communities the experience, knowledge, and political responsibility gained in parliament.”
Notable candidacies include that of parliamentary leader Pedro Pinto, leading the party list for Faro’s City Council with the slogan “Make Faro Great Again,” inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump, and Rita Matias, head of Chega’s youth wing, running for the Sintra City Council, where Basílio Horta (PS) is stepping down due to term limits.
Other parliamentary candidates include the Vice-President of the Assembly of the Republic, Diogo Pacheco de Amorim, in Melgaço, Rui Paulo Sousa in Amadora, Bruno Nunes in Loures, and former PSD member Rui Cristina in Albufeira. The local election coordinator, Carlos Magno, is competing in Almada.
In Lisbon, Chega has nominated Bruno Mascarenhas, already a municipal deputy. In 2021, the party fielded former television presenter Nuno Graciano for the capital’s mayoral election but did not secure any council seats.
In Porto, where the party also failed to elect any councilors in 2021, the candidate is Miguel Côrte-Real, who led the PSD municipal group in Porto’s Municipal Assembly from 2021 to 2024.
In the 2021 national elections, the party led by André Ventura received 4.16% of the votes (208,232 ballots), according to the Ministry of Internal Administration’s general secretary. They claimed representation in seven national districts but fell short of becoming the third major political force, trailing behind CDU.
During those elections, André Ventura himself headed the list for Moura’s Municipal Assembly in the Beja district after receiving 30.85% of votes in that municipality during the same year’s presidential election, in which he also participated. In the local elections, the party ranked as the third political force, following PS and CDU.
Chega contested 220 municipalities in the last local elections with their lists and elected 19 councilors. This was their first participation in local elections since their formal establishment two years prior.
Several of the 19 councilors later parted ways with the party, becoming independents, including Nuno Afonso, who co-founded Chega with Ventura and was the party’s second member. The party acknowledged “serious casting mistakes” following these departures.
