“I am of the belief that all of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s actions are aimed at, since he disagrees with the essence of the law, issuing various types of vetoes, whether by shelving it, referring it to the Constitutional Court, or delaying the law so that someone else will sign it, not Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa himself,” stated André Ventura, addressing journalists in the Assembly of the Republic after meeting with his “shadow government.”
On Tuesday, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced that he would disclose his decision on the Foreigners Law on Thursday, the deadline for any potential appeal to the Constitutional Court.
“I guarantee that I will decide by the 16th, I will meet that deadline, which already indicates my inclination,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated.
Today, the leader of Chega criticized, “it’s regrettable that the President waited two days after the local elections” to provide this indication of what he might do, accusing Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of “political maneuvering” and attempting to “hide from people what he was going to do, knowing that he would likely refer the law back to the Constitutional Court.”
André Ventura argued that the new version of the Foreigners Law is “weaker than it should be,” advocating for “more border control” and “more immigration control.”
The president of Chega expressed that the head of state “disagrees with that” and is deliberately delaying the process.
“We will have a Foreigners Law. As long as this majority exists in parliament, there will be a Foreigners Law, whether the President likes it or not. We will do whatever it takes regarding the Foreigners Law,” he emphasized.
Ventura also remarked that “fortunately, the occupant of the Belém Palace will change” after the presidential elections early next year, in which he is also a candidate, hoping it will be someone who agrees with this law.
Asked about the nationality law, the president of Chega insisted that a foreign citizen committing “serious crimes” in Portugal should face penalties including the loss of Portuguese nationality, indicating that this will be one of the party’s proposed amendments while the proposal is under consideration.
“Those who commit serious crimes against the State, such as terrorism, etc., should not be able to regain Portuguese nationality, should be expelled from the territory, and should lose nationality,” he argued, also believing “no one should acquire Portuguese nationality before a sufficiently long period has elapsed.”
Ventura further stated that if the Constitutional Court deems it unconstitutional, “it is doing a disservice to the country.”
