André Ventura announced plans to appeal a decision by the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, which rejected a proposed law from Chega on changes to nationality law due to constitutional compliance concerns.
Ventura accused Aguiar-Branco of “blocking” Chega’s political action, drawing parallels with former Assembly leader Ferro Rodrigues. Ventura claimed Chega supports the same stance as Prime Minister Luís Montenegro: “Individuals who commit serious crimes after acquiring Portuguese nationality should lose their citizenship.”
“The president of the Assembly of the Republic is not the one to determine a project’s constitutionality. That is the role of the Constitutional Court,” stated Ventura.
On forming a parliamentary inquiry into the granting of nationality and residence to foreign citizens in Portugal, Ventura decided to proceed independently, anticipating opposition from PSD and PS.
“I will propose to Chega’s Parliamentary Group to immediately begin procedures for a potestative parliamentary inquiry into the attribution of residence and nationality in recent years. This committee should investigate the responsibility of the last socialist executive and the previous PSD/CDS government,” Ventura said.
According to Ventura, the inquiry should fully investigate those responsible for the disorganized entry of persons into Portugal, many with criminal records, without any verification.
“It is necessary to determine if there is criminal responsibility that should be referred to the Public Ministry. We hope the parliament will soon commence this inquiry,” he noted.
Politically, Ventura believes PS and PSD oppose the inquiry because they “know they have responsibilities in this matter.”
“The country now knows, in many areas, that what was done in Portugal in recent years was criminal. It is necessary to determine responsibilities,” he added.
