The Liberal Initiative (IL) has made key updates to its candidate list as Miguel Rangel, the party’s secretary-general, assumes the number two position in Porto. He replaces Patrícia Gilvaz on a list spearheaded by Carlos Guimarães Pinto, the party’s founder and former leader.
Rodrigo Saraiva, aged 48, previously served as the parliamentary leader and vice-president of the Assembly of the Republic in the last legislature.
Miguel Rangel, 49, joined the Liberal Initiative in January 2017 when it was still an association and participated in the party’s establishment in November 2017, as noted in a statement released after a meeting.
Among the 22 leading candidates for the legislative elections previously disclosed by IL is the current party president, Rui Rocha, who, following the leadership’s recommendation, will be the top candidate in the Braga electoral district, a position he also held in 2022 and 2024.
The parliamentary leader and presidential candidate, Mariana Leitão, has been confirmed to lead the IL list in the Lisbon electoral district.
During the meeting, which commenced around 10:30 a.m. in Braga, the IL National Council, the party’s highest body between conventions, approved the programmatic guidelines for the upcoming elections on May 18. The document emphasizes measures deemed necessary to “Accelerate Portugal.”
The first step in IL’s program is state modernization, asserting that the state should “ensure its essential functions” with priority given to defense, security, justice, universal access to health and education, infrastructure, and transportation. The focus is on reinforcing capabilities in these areas while reducing or eliminating state involvement where it is unnecessary or undesirable.
Restoring trust in institutions is the second objective. Rui Rocha’s party proposes electoral system reforms, citing that in 2024, over 770,000 votes did not lead to the election of any deputies. The initiative encompasses various measures such as independent appointments to the Bank of Portugal, expanding the competencies of CReSAP, and addressing the regulation of lobbying activities.
The third objective is to break away from economic stagnation, advocating for “a new economic model based on freedom, competition, and responsibility,” along with “a tax system that values work.”
IL proposes, as previously indicated by Rui Rocha, a reduction and simplification of the IRS, alongside measures to increase transparency and bolster taxpayer confidence in the state, such as “the creation of the Individual Tax Account, a tool allowing each citizen to know the amount paid in taxes and how those resources are utilized.”
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, announced in a national address that early legislative elections will be held on May 18, following the political crisis that led to the resignation of the PSD/CDS-PP government, which faced a parliamentary vote of no confidence.
