In early October, the National Jurisdiction Commission of the Socialist Party (PS) decided to expel former leadership candidate Daniel Adrião for running in local elections on an independent list opposing PS’s in a Lisbon parish, a decision contested by Adrião.
In statements to Lusa, Adrião stated he has not yet received “any challenge” to his defense from the National Jurisdiction Commission, nor has he been “notified of any deliberation from this body regarding the application of any penalty.”
“As such, until the process is concluded, I remain a member of the Socialist Party, with full rights, notably the right to participate in the party’s bodies to which I belong through the election of its members,” he criticized.
Adrião mentioned that “the PS’s Secretary-General José Luís Carneiro and the party’s President Carlos César decided” not to invite him to this week’s national body meetings, including Tuesday’s National Political Commission and the National Commission meeting scheduled for the weekend.
An official PS source explained to Lusa that “there is an internal regulation that suspends the membership of anyone subject to expulsion proceedings until a final decision,” and that “Daniel Adrião is currently suspended,” a reason for his non-invitation.
The jurisdiction’s dispatch released earlier this month stated that Daniel Adrião “against the guidelines defined by the competent PS bodies” ran for the São Vicente Parish Assembly on a list named “Em Frente São Vicente.”
The document further states that Adrião’s participation on a list opposing the one presented by the PS, or the guidelines defined by the party’s competent bodies, constitutes a “disciplinary infraction, graded as a serious misconduct.”
As a result, and citing the statutes, the Jurisdiction Council explained that the penalty applicable to Adrião is expulsion from the party.
Adrião had a statutory deadline of 10 days to appeal this decision, but the dispatch notes that since it is “supported by documentary evidence,” which is the candidate list notice, “any defense that does not substantiate a claim of falsity of the proof document is considered useless and delaying.”
In his defense sent to the PS’s National Jurisdiction Commission, Adrião argued that he committed “no violation of the PS statutes” and requested the case be dismissed.
“The process that led to the selection of the candidate for the São Vicente Parish Council [of the PS] did not respect democratic principles nor ensured equal participation, rendering any party guideline resulting from this process legally null,” he argued.
Adrião insisted, “the internal discipline of a party cannot and does not override the fundamental rights of citizens.”
