This morning, prior to the commencement of voting, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, requested members of the Livre party to occupy their front-row seats in the hemicycle, which were unoccupied.
The parliamentary leader of Livre, Isabel Mendes Lopes, rose from her second-row seat to respond to the President of the Assembly of the Republic.
She argued that the four members present (out of a total of six) were seated in their assigned seats and would cast their votes from these positions in the second and third rows.
Deputies Isabel Mendes Lopes, Patrícia Gonçalves, Jorge Pinto, and Paulo Muacho were present for the vote. Absent were deputies Rui Tavares and Filipa Pinto. Consequently, the two front-row seats allocated to Livre remained empty.
“Indignant”
Pedro Pinto, the parliamentary leader of Chega, criticized Livre, deeming it “indignant” that deputies with a parliamentary group do not vote from the front row as is customary.
“It’s the front row that votes, not the back. Otherwise, they are single deputies,” he remarked.
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco noted that the arrangement of Livre’s seating remains a topic for future discussion at the next leaders’ conference.
“I am also working on a solution that respects the decision that was made,” he added.
The President of the Assembly had previously cautioned in an email sent Thursday to all parliamentary groups that adhering to the allocated plenary seating is crucial to avoid complications during voting, ensuring organizational functionality and the dignity of parliamentary proceedings.
This message aimed to resolve the ongoing dispute over deputies’ seating arrangements in the plenary.
This disagreement, ongoing since the start of this legislative session, particularly pits the PSD against Livre and was reignited on Wednesday. PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares accused Livre of not adhering to the seating distribution in the hemicycle as voted on the 18th. In response, Rui Tavares claimed Livre was protesting by not occupying its front-row seats.
Free does not sit in the 1st row “until the problem is resolved”
Livre has been represented in seats designated for the socialist bench in other rows, and Rui Tavares stated that his party would not sit in the front row “until the problem is resolved.”
In the message sent to different benches, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco highlighted that the Assembly of the Republic “governs itself by principles of pluralism, democratic representation, and respect for common rules, agreed upon by all parties with parliamentary seats.”
He further emphasized, “The seating distribution in the plenary is a result of a plenary decision of the Assembly and aims to ensure functional organization and dignity in parliamentary work.”
“The decision was made based on general criteria, adhered strictly to the Rules of Procedure, and was validated in the appropriate forum. The President of the Assembly of the Republic does not impose individual decisions, but implements collegial decisions,” José Pedro Aguiar-Branco stresses.
The parliament president then accentuates that plenary seating distribution “is not arbitrary and is essential for ensuring the organized conduct of table work, the regular functioning of voting procedures, and the identification of deputies during sessions.”
“I also remind that voting should occur from the seats allocated to each Parliamentary Group. Voting from unallocated seats can lead to situations that might generate constraints or undesirable interpretations regarding the representation and arrangement of deputies in the hemicycle,” he emphasizes.
