A proposal by the Chega party to prohibit public funding for the construction of mosques was rejected in the Budget, Finance, and Public Administration Committee (COFAP) during the afternoon vote on the State Budget for 2026 (OE2026). The proposal saw abstentions from CDS-PP and PAN, a sole affirmative vote from Chega, and opposition from other parties.
Earlier in the day, the Constitutional Affairs Committee had approved an opinion deeming the proposal unconstitutional. Following its rejection, PS representative Miguel Costa Matos stressed the importance of discussing the issue further to prevent setting a precedent.
“Our competence at this stage is solely to admit or reject the proposal under Article 120 of the Rules of Procedure. Admissibility is not a judgment of substantive constitutionality. This committee cannot replace either the plenary session or the Constitutional Court in controlling the substance of the norms,” stated COFAP President Rui Afonso from the Chega party.
Afonso explained that “refusal is only possible when there is a clear, irremediable direct violation,” which he argued does not occur automatically due to a mere technical opinion.
He emphasized the need to “safeguard the democratic principle, parliamentary pluralism, and the legislative initiative rights of deputies protected by the Constitution. Preventing debate would turn a legal opinion into a mere administrative veto, removing the role of the Plenary and the Constitutional Court,” he argued.
Subsequently, Afonso admitted the proposal for voting, which was ultimately rejected, stating that this ensured “greater transparency and democratic scrutiny” despite the Constitutional Affairs Committee’s negative opinion.
From the PSD, Alberto Fonseca made a similar intervention to the PS, requesting that the topic be discussed in a future board and coordinators’ meeting.
From the proposing party, Chega’s Pedro Pinto accused PS and PSD of attempting to block “legislative initiatives from being voted on in this committee.”
The Constitutional Affairs Committee today deemed a Chega proposal to alter the State Budget for 2026, intending to ban public funds for mosque construction, as unconstitutional. The only vote against came from Chega itself.
The 1st Committee met this morning, prior to the State Budget 2026 discussion and vote commencement, approving an opinion authored by Social Democrat Francisco José Martins, which concluded that the Chega proposal does not conform to the Republic’s Constitution.
The opinion received approval from PS, PSD, PCP, Livre, and JPP, with Chega voting against and CDS-PP abstaining.
The document states that Chega’s proposal makes “an explicit discrimination based on religious affiliation” and “establishes an arbitrary and unreasonable inequality of treatment,” violating “constitutional principles of equality and religious freedom insurmountably.”
Consequently, the committee determined that the proposal “does not meet the requirements” for admission to discussion and voting within the framework of the State Budget for 2026.
