The socialist Capoulas Santos, speaking at a rally in Évora attended by the Socialist Party’s secretary-general Pedro Nuno Santos, urged left-leaning citizens, centrists, and those aspiring for progress in the district, region, and country to vote for the PS. He asserted that only by consolidating the vote with the PS could the right be effectively challenged and one deputy removed from the district.
In the last legislative elections, the PS secured one deputy in Évora, alongside one from the AD, while Chega captured the third mandate awarded to the Alentejo electoral circle.
“Évora elects three deputies, as has been mentioned. Although the PS has consistently emerged as the undeniable winner in all parliamentary elections over the past decades, the fragmentation of votes among smaller parties, particularly on the left, significantly affects us. This was evident in the last election when we, despite nearly doubling the second place’s votes, ended up electing only one out of three deputies,” he explained.
Prior to the rally, the socialist delegation conducted a street march through the streets of Évora.
The former minister recounted, “As we came from the Public Garden to here, almost retracing the steps we took in 2022, the last year I was a candidate, I remember discussing who would win the elections. All polls pointed towards the PSD and Rui Rio, but on election day, we faced the reality of an absolute majority for the PS.”
The socialist aims to face this challenge with “serenity and conviction,” advocating for PS’s proposals with “ambition and realism” while criticizing the “demagogic proposals of the AD, which reality has already started to expose, such as the economic growth in the first quarter when compared to PSD’s macroeconomic forecasts.”
Luís Dias, PS’s lead candidate for the Évora district in the upcoming elections on October 18, also amplified the call for support.
“There are nine days left in the campaign. We have a significant journey ahead, and it is crucial to persuade all the undecided, to change the vote of those who haven’t yet realized that only with the PS can we build something that is both progressive and grounded in development. We have nine days, nine days to show everyone the strength of the PS, to demonstrate that it’s with the PS that problems are solved,” he emphasized.
He further outlined that only with the PS is it possible to ensure toll exemption on the A6, establish the “great health cluster of Évora,” finally complete the hospital that the AD delayed by two more years, create a “medical program at the University of Évora and with it, in the medium term, manage to retain more doctors,” and complete the IP2 project.
[Updated at 8:45 PM]
