Branca Matos announced her decision “with great sadness” to resign after 15 years of active membership, as stated in a communication sent to Lusa.
“This decision was motivated by the lack of communication and coordination with the current council of Leiria, especially its president [Arlindo Brites] and the current candidate for the City Council [Deputy Sofia Carreira], who is also the vice-president of the local structure,” the statement reads.
Branca Matos added that “to this day, there has been no coordination or interest in communicating with the only PSD councilor in the municipality on any idea proposed for the council as a candidate and as a deputy,” and the council “has not presented any political vision for the development of the Leiria council over time.”
“I would like to thank all the members, candidates for municipal bodies, who have always been available, and PSD sympathizers who have supported me in my role as councilor for the Leiria City Council,” Branca Matos noted in the same statement.
The councilor, now independent, stated that “the support of members and sympathizers, as well as councilors Álvaro Madureira and Daniel Marques and all the municipal deputies, was crucial to being present in the parishes, alongside the populations, contributing to solving their problems and improving the quality of life for people in the Leiria council.”
Speaking to Lusa, former PSD member Branca Matos said she left the party disappointed, pointing out that in 15 years of membership, she had never been treated like this.
In the 2021 municipal elections, the PS retained the Leiria City Council with eight mandates, while the PSD obtained three.
In January 2023, Daniel Marques and Álvaro Madureira, who led the municipal list for the Social Democrats, announced their departure from the PSD.
