The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, addressed the Nationality Law on Friday, which was approved in a parliamentary committee without a guaranteed absolute majority, as the government needs an absolute majority of 116 votes in favor from the 230 active deputies.
“I am awaiting the bill that will be sent to Belém for my opinion,” he stated to journalists in the Azores, noting that the overall vote will take place next week, on the 28th.
“I also know that the matter of the proposal for the loss of nationality under certain circumstances with judicial intervention has been separated from this bill. I will have to wait for another bill,” he emphasized, indicating that commenting on the matter was premature.
“[The proposed law] is still in the Assembly of the Republic, there hasn’t been a final global vote. It is essential to respect the exclusive competence of the Assembly of the Republic. In the nationality issue, it is a very important competence because it requires a qualified majority,” he considered.
Regarding the call for responsibility in voting, made by the Social Democratic Party and the government, Marcelo stated: “What I can say is that when the Constitution calls for a stronger, more qualified majority, it is because it considers it a matter of such national interest, knowing who is Portuguese. It is even more important than legislating about the territory, which is also very important,” reminding that this situation requires a qualified majority, not a simple majority.
In the final global vote, the government’s proposal to revise the nationality law must be approved with a qualified majority, securing at least 116 affirmative votes from a total of 230 deputies, which is not yet guaranteed.
Chega approved some points of the government’s proposed nationality law revisions during the specialty stage, while PS, BE, and PCP announced their overall opposition to the process.
