The scheduling of this decision was agreed upon today during a meeting of the conference of parliamentary leaders. This marks the first such meeting since Portugal’s President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, dissolved the Assembly of the Republic following the rejection of a confidence motion presented by the PSD/CDS-PP government, led by Luís Montenegro.
Jorge Paulo Oliveira, the spokesperson for the conference of leaders and Social Democrat deputy, stated that because the Assembly of the Republic stands dissolved, the Permanent Committee must deliberate for parliament to convene in a plenary session.
Besides finalizing the schedule for the solemn session commemorating the April 25, 1974, revolution, the Permanent Committee of the Assembly of the Republic will also allocate time for political statements by each parliamentary group during its Wednesday meeting, although no right of reply will be permitted.
On March 16, the conference of parliamentary leaders had initially resolved to organize this year’s solemn commemorative session for April 25, 1974, in the usual manner, despite the dissolution of parliament.
Deputy Jorge Paulo Oliveira indicated that the proposal was made to the parties by the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, and received unanimous approval.
He further noted that the parliamentary president highlighted three key reasons for maintaining the session in parliament: the solemnity of the date itself, the marking of 50 years since the first free elections in the country for the Constituent Assembly, and lastly, to signal the democratic maturity of the regime.
This year, April 25 marks the 51st anniversary of the Carnation Revolution and the 50th anniversary of the first free elections in the country for the Constituent Assembly, which later drafted the 1976 Constitution.
The session marking the Carnation Revolution in parliament has not occurred in only four of the 49 years since the Assembly of the Republic was established following the elections of April 25, 1976, the date when the democratic Constitution took effect.
No sessions were held in parliament in 1983, 1993, and 2011. In 1992, as proposed by then-President Mário Soares, the celebration moved to Belém to make it more appealing and raise youth awareness of democratic achievements.
In 1983, the session was not held due to coinciding legislative elections on April 25. In 2011, the dissolution of the Assembly prevented the session, while in 1993, media organizations collectively boycotted all parliamentary activities in protest against restrictions on journalist movement within the S. Bento building in Lisbon. Due to the lack of media coverage, the parliamentary session was canceled.
