“I think it is important that the president of the Assembly of the Republic evolves in his thinking and realizes that this is degrading for our democracy as a whole and that the deputies who lower the standards of parliamentary work need to be called to reason,” stated Rui Tavares to journalists during a campaign event for the local elections on the 12th in Costa da Caparica, Almada municipality, Setúbal district.
The leader of Livre was responding after the president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, considered it timely, on Tuesday afternoon, to promote a discussion about revising the Code of Conduct for deputies, potentially foreseeing sanctions, though he emphasized that this initiative lies with parliamentary groups.
When questioned regarding recent incidents involving inappropriate behavior by deputies—one involving Filipe Melo of Chega while he was a member of the parliamentary board—Aguiar-Branco referred to proposals already presented by PS and Livre to review the Code of Conduct.
Tavares recalled that Livre had requested “two legislatures ago” for parliamentary services to compile a comparative dossier with best practices from other parliaments, both within and outside the European Union, to address these types of situations.
The president of the Assembly of the Republic today deemed it fitting to initiate a discussion about reviewing the Code of Conduct for deputies, potentially including sanctions, but stressed that this impetus must come from parliamentary groups.
The deputy mentioned that in the European Parliament, if behaviors are deemed inappropriate, MEPs can lose a day’s salary and suggested that such measures could be implemented in the Assembly of the Republic.
“I don’t know if it’s necessary to do this in the Assembly of the Republic. However, I know that it is not a debate that should be avoided. I think the worst service we can provide to democracy and our fellow citizens is to pretend that everything is fine and that everything is normal. No, that type of behavior in parliament is not normal,” he criticized.
Alongside BE leader Joana Mortágua, with whom he campaigned today in Setúbal district, across municipalities such as Almada and Seixal, Tavares regretted that some rules of the current Assembly of the Republic’s Rules are “not applied,” but stressed that this does not mean new ones cannot be established.
