In a statement, André Gomes disclosed that a complaint was filed following an incident on Wednesday night near Cabanelas’ church. This occurred after a video was recorded and posted on social media by Chega de Cabanelas expressing support for Fernando Feitor, an independent candidate for Vila Verde’s council supported by CDS-PP, who also filed the complaint with the GNR.
The Chega candidate for Cabanelas in Sunday’s local elections claimed that, minutes after filming the video with Fernando Feitor and publishing it, four vehicles from Filipe Melo’s campaign arrived at the scene, including Melo himself. They allegedly “surrounded and blocked” the only road exit, pointing high beams at both individuals conversing near the church.
When confronted about these alleged events, Filipe Melo, the lead candidate for Vila Verde’s council, denied the accusations, calling them a “staging” and a “lamentable and ridiculous” episode. He announced the withdrawal of Chega’s political support for its candidate for Cabanelas’ parish council, home to a Roma community.
“I do not want the support – and this was conveyed to him by the local party leadership. The council candidate does not want support from a parish council candidate who, for whatever reason, staunchly defends the Roma community. Internally, we were going to withdraw political support. The candidate saw fit, before this withdrawal, to support an independent candidate and may have staged something to call the GNR,” stated Filipe Melo.
The parliamentarian acknowledged that politically, “withdrawing political confidence from a parish candidate from the same party, and vice versa, is significant,” accusing the complainants of attempting to “stage a theatrical coup,” which he disregards.
The criminal complaint, accessed by André Gomes and Fernando Feitor, who in 2021 was elected as a council member for Vila Verde by Chega but distanced himself from André Ventura’s party in 2023, describes that “vehicles identified with Chega symbols stopped in the middle of the road with high beams on, blocking other vehicles from passing.”
Feeling that “his physical integrity might be at risk,” Fernando Feitor called the Prado GNR post, which quickly arrived at Cabanelas’ church.
“When the GNR patrol arrived, the Chega campaign suspects moved their vehicles to the roadside,” the joint complaint reads, with the Chega council candidate admitting feeling “intimidated” by the situation, causing him “unease.”
The complainants argue that “the suspects’ actions were intended to harm their physical integrity and to dissuade them on political matters.”
In the complaint, André Gomes and Fernando Feitor are seeking criminal proceedings against Filipe Melo and his associates, some identified by the current council member, for the crime of stalking.
Filipe Melo offered a different account of the events in his statements.
“There were unpleasant situations involving insult exchanges against a woman from our campaign, to which there was no response. What they did afterward, involving the GNR and everything else, is their issue. Our cars were parked there. If the gentlemen saw the cars, went there, and tried to stage something, that’s on them. If they filed a report with the GNR, good that they did, and an inquiry should be opened,” Filippe Melo added.
