“It was a victory for change, because the people believe the county needs change,” stated Paula Freitas, who won today’s local elections in the Algarve municipality.
The PSD today seized control of the Vila do Bispo Town Hall, electing Paula Freitas as president and securing two out of five contested mandates, breaking a 16-year socialist leadership.
Paula Freitas succeeds socialist Rute Silva, who led the council executive without a majority for one term and failed to be re-elected.
According to provisional data from the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI), the PPD/PSD received 40.85% of the votes, with the PS coming in second, garnering 39.24% of the votes and securing two mandates.
The party Chega captured the third-largest share with 14.45%, gaining one mandate, followed by CDU (PCP/PEV) in fourth with 3.70%.
“The county needed to evolve, and they saw that I was the person with the capacity to pull Vila do Bispo out of 16 years of socialist governance inertia,” Paula Freitas remarked to the Lusa agency.
The elected president noted that “today’s victory also reflects four years of work as a councilor and a heartfelt electoral campaign.”
When asked about the potential challenges of governing with a minority council, Paula Freitas expressed confidence “in all the elected representatives to build a better county.”
“I believe that everyone wants the best for Vila do Bispo,” she concluded.
Paula Freitas, aged 61 and holding a degree in Chemical Engineering, led the PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM coalition’s list in the 2021 elections, where they were the third most voted force with 23.97% of the votes.
Between 2002 and 2005, she served on the municipal executive led by Gilberto Viegas (PSD) as a councilor and vice-president of Vila do Bispo Council, overseeing education, social action, culture, environment, water and sanitation, cemeteries, and toponymy portfolios.
Her opponents included Rute Silva (PS), Afonso Nascimento (Chega), and Bruno Boaventura (CDU).
According to MAI data, the PPD/PSD also won the electoral battle for the Vila do Bispo Municipal Assembly, with 41.49%, electing seven mandates. PS followed with 36.79%, gaining six mandates, Chega with 14.04%, securing two mandates, and CDU with 5.43%, which did not achieve any mandates.
