The former leader of PAN, Carolina Pia, has filed a disciplinary complaint against the party’s spokesperson, citing alleged political persecution and harassment.
The complaint, sent to PAN’s National Political Commission (CPN), was rejected without discussion, and a disciplinary process was initiated against Pia, without a specified date being mentioned.
In a statement, PAN assured that this information “does not correspond to the truth, as the issue was discussed, and the CPN concluded it was merely a defamatory complaint contrary to the facts.”
Sources indicate that Carolina Pia was subject to disciplinary inquiry in May for failing to submit Viseu’s candidacy to court, thereby harming the party.
Carolina Pia blames the party leadership for not providing adequate support for preparing the Viseu candidacy in the last legislative elections, claiming this deliberate omission led to the failure to submit the lists in a district where she had previously led the list.
Despite warnings about human resource and logistical support shortages in PAN’s Viseu district, she states that the leadership only intervened in the final week of candidacy preparation, at which point timely completion was impossible.
Pia claims this lack of support aimed to use the candidacy omission as a “scapegoat” for the legislative election outcomes.
The party’s campaign director and spokesperson, Inês Sousa Real, allegedly had access to the necessary documentation to submit the candidacy but chose not to complete it “deliberately and consciously” to ensure the candidacy’s failure.
“After the legislative election results, Inês Sousa Real orchestrated making me the scapegoat for the election outcomes, suggesting several people asked about the omission, which significantly affected the party, which is untrue,” the complaint states.
The former PAN district leader in Viseu argues that “if it were true that Viseu had genuinely damaged PAN’s national image,” the party “would do everything to address such a flaw and submit a candidacy for Viseu’s local elections, which it did not and will not do.”
Carolina Pia claims the Viseu district was excluded from consultation processes for this year’s local elections for political reasons, calling the decision discriminatory and “illegal in every aspect, from statutory to constitutional and international legislation.”
The document also mentions allegedly discriminatory behaviors and a hostile environment in internal meetings, including instances of “verbal violence” in a meeting with PAN Youth.
It is also alleged that Sousa Real preemptively contacted CPN members to influence the vote on initiating an inquiry against Pia for the failure to submit Viseu’s legislative candidacy, labeled a “concerted and illegal act of political persecution.”
According to CPN members present at the meeting on July 14, Pia’s complaint was not discussed by the CPN’s chair, Alexandra Reis Moreira, as it was deemed unfounded and defamatory.
During the meeting, based on the agenda, a disciplinary process against Carolina Pia was reviewed and approved for her complaint against the party leader, adding to an ongoing process for not presenting the Viseu candidacy for the 2025 legislative elections.
Contacted about the case, PAN’s leadership stated that Pia’s allegations reflect a “calumnious conduct” and are “in stark contradiction with documentary evidence known to CPN members who decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings.”
“This issue was discussed with time allocated, and the CPN found it to be nothing more than a slanderous complaint contrary to the facts documented in the email from the member, who since May 2025 has faced disciplinary inquiry for failing to submit Viseu’s candidacy to court, thereby harming the party,” the statement adds.
Carolina Pia, who led PAN’s list for Viseu in the 2024 legislative elections, resigned from the party’s CPN in May, weeks after the May 18 elections.
The head of PAN’s list for Viseu in the 2024 legislative elections, Carolina Pia, resigned from the party’s national political commission, amidst disagreements with the leadership, marking the fourth departure from leading positions since the May 18 elections.
Lusa | 21:01 – 26/05/2025
