The highest governing body among conventions has an agenda to “review the results” of BE in the municipal elections held on the 12th, where the party, still led by Mariana Mortágua, failed to reverse the declining trend from previous elections.
BE went from having five councilors and 94 municipal deputies to securing only one councilor in Lisbon, elected within a coalition with PS, Livre, and PAN, and a total of 17 deputies in municipalities and parishes.
This outcome followed the legislative elections in May, where BE dropped from five parliamentarians to a single deputy, marking its worst performance ever in such elections.
On Saturday, in a letter addressed to party members accessed by Lusa, Mortágua announced she would not seek re-election for the position she has held for two years, stating that “after the collapse of the absolute majority of PS and with the strengthening of the right and far-right, it was necessary to find other paths,” a goal that “was not achieved.”
“The leadership under my head was incapable of reversing the excessive centralization of the Bloco’s structure and generating a new political and electoral impetus. We are well aware of the committed hate campaigns by our adversaries, but the fact is that we could not neutralize them,” she justified.
In a press conference at the party’s national headquarters in Lisbon, the current sole deputy announced she will remain in the Assembly of the Republic until the end of November, after the budget process, and will step down when her term as coordinator ends, remaining available to continue working within the party.
The BE’s National Committee will also “analyze the context of the presidential elections amid a scenario of confirmation of the right’s majority across the country.”
The party has already approved in a previous meeting the support for Catarina Martins, former BE coordinator, who announced her candidacy for the presidency.
On the left, besides Catarina Martins, presidential candidacies have been declared for António José Seguro, supported by PS, António Filipe, by PCP, and Livre’s deputy Jorge Pinto.
There will also be room to debate the State Budget proposal for 2026, presented by the PSD/CDS-PP government, which will be discussed and voted on in general on Monday and Tuesday.
The conclusions of the Committee will be announced at the end of the day in a press conference by Mariana Mortágua.
According to BE’s statutes, the National Committee is the highest body in the period between two National Conventions “and it is responsible for leading the Movement nationally.”
