The decision was approved at the Livre Assembly, the party’s highest authority between congresses, on Friday night, with only one abstention.
In a statement, Livre emphasized that this decision was made “after the most participatory consultation ever among party members and supporters,” in which over two-thirds supported Jorge Pinto’s candidacy, while 17.6% preferred António José Seguro.
“With this support, Livre reaffirms once again its commitment to a free, democratic, and participatory left that advocates for a more just, sustainable, and supportive society,” the statement reads.
According to Rui Tavares and Isabel Mendes Lopes, “the left-wing political area should be reinforced in these presidential elections,” and “given the impact of far-right and center-right candidacies, it is urgent to support a candidacy that enables a debate on the left.”
“We equally understand that the candidacies presented thus far and identified as from the left do not represent Livre’s political area: progressive, ecological, and pro-European,” states the party, after names such as António José Seguro, Catarina Martins, and António Filipe advanced on the left.
Livre argues that Jorge Pinto “has proven himself in representing the values and ideals of Livre,” and his candidacy “will allow the political space represented by the party and all those who have trusted it to have a direct intervention in the presidential debate, giving voice to our vision for a progressive and humanist presidency.”
According to data released by Livre on Friday, to the question “should Livre support the candidacy of member Jorge Pinto” for President of the Republic, 67.3% (819 votes) answered affirmatively, while 21.31% opposed.
In this data, Livre does not include blank votes in the final percentage calculation, following a methodology similar to that used in presidential election result tallying. However, including the 277 blank votes in the question on supporting Jorge Pinto, the favorable vote percentage drops from 67.3% to 54.8%.
Regarding whether the party should support a candidate from its political space, 78.69% responded affirmatively, and 21.31% negatively. When questioned if Livre should support a candidacy from another political area, 35.7% said “yes,” and 64.3% disagreed.
The party also surveyed which candidacy from another political area Livre should support, with former PS leader António José Seguro receiving the most votes, but 66.2% of members chose not to indicate any other name.
Seguro garnered 17.63% of the votes, followed by António Filipe (8.47%) and Catarina Martins (4.90%).
In none of these percentages does Livre include blank votes, which were 138 on the question of whether the party should support someone from its political space and 259 on whether to support a candidacy from another political area. There were also 65 null votes on the question of which other candidate the party should support.
Jorge Pinto, 38, is set to present his candidacy this afternoon in Amarante, Porto, where he is originally from.
An Environmental Engineering graduate, he also holds a PhD in Social and Political Philosophy, with a thesis on “republicanism, ecology, and post-productivism.”
He was involved in the founding of Livre, is part of the current leadership (Contact Group), and has been a member of the Assembly of the Republic since 2024.
