“It would be a senseless electoral participation,” stated José Pinto Coelho, confirming that Ergue-te’s candidacy in Lisbon for the local elections on October 12 is withdrawn.
The far-right nationalist party Ergue-te had announced its candidacy for the Lisbon City Council in February, with José Pinto Coelho as the leading candidate, prioritizing “ending multiculturalism” in the capital.
José Pinto Coelho had previously run for the presidency of the Lisbon City Council in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2017, representing the National Renewal Party (PNR), the predecessor of Ergue-te.
In statements to the Lusa agency, the honorary president of Ergue-te mentioned that the party decided to “focus all efforts” on Lisbon in the local elections, without planning to present candidates in other municipalities.
According to José Pinto Coelho, the process of dissolving the Ergue-te party, presided over by Rui Fonseca e Castro, is still pending because “the Constitutional Court’s ruling has not been published yet.”
“A new party will emerge after the local elections or the presidential ones. Nationalists will not be left without a party. It’s just a matter of time,” he stated.
On June 12, the Constitutional Court confirmed the process of Ergue-te’s dissolution, responding to a request by the Public Prosecutor’s Office due to the party’s failure to present accounts for the past three years.
Faced with this news, Rui Fonseca e Castro said the party was informed of “a dissolution process instituted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Constitutional Court,” citing “the non-submission of accounts for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021” as the cause.
“While it is true that such omission occurred in the aforementioned years, it is also true that efforts were being made to rectify these failures with the Entity of Accounts and Political Financing, including a recent in-person meeting,” he referred.
The leader of Ergue-te mentioned that the dissolution process “constitutes the fatal blow to a party that was already extremely weak.”
With Ergue-te’s withdrawal, candidates running for the presidency of Lisbon City Council in the local elections on October 12 include Alexandra Leitão (PS/Livre/BE/PAN), Carlos Moedas (PSD/CDS-PP/IL), João Ferreira (CDU — PCP/PEV coalition), Ossanda Líber (New Right), Bruno Mascarenhas (Chega), and José Almeida (Volt).
In the current term (2021-2025), the Lisbon City Council is led by social democrat Carlos Moedas (governing without an absolute majority), with seven elected from the ‘Novos Tempos’ coalition – PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança, facing opposition from seven elected of the ‘Mais Lisboa’ coalition – PS/Livre, two from CDU, and one from BE.
