The National Council of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) unanimously approved the pre-electoral coalition agreement with the CDS-PP for the early legislative elections scheduled for May 18 in Madeira and mainland Portugal. Notably, monarchist parties, previously part of the Democratic Alliance (AD) during the 2024 legislative and European elections, are excluded. However, the PPM will be part of the coalition in the Azores.
“The PPM is not part of the coalition on the mainland because it was not possible to reach an agreement regarding the allocation of seats (…) I do not believe we should jeopardize a political project over the issue of list placements, and thus the matter is now resolved,” a statement said.
When questioned about the potential continued use of the AD designation for the coalition, the PSD’s secretary-general stated that there is no barrier to using the AD name in this candidacy.
“In the coming days, the public will be informed of the coalition’s registered name, but I want to emphasize that, from a legal, formal, and constitutional standpoint, there is no issue. (…) The nation knows this is the AD candidacy, we are the AD,” the statement continued.
Hugo Soares took the opportunity to distinguish the AD coalition from the ADN party, pointing out that confusion between the two cost “thousands of votes and some mandates in the country” during the last legislative elections.
When asked if this confusion might justify a name change, he reiterated: “We will see in the coming days. You can tell the nation that today, the coalition between PSD and CDS has been formally approved and that AD remains committed to transforming Portugal.”
The PSD National Council also unanimously approved Luís Montenegro as the prime ministerial candidate, with the list of parliamentary candidates passing with three abstentions.
