A decision was made during a meeting of Livre’s Assembly, the party’s highest body between congresses, on Monday night. The Group of Contact, which serves as the party’s leadership, proposed a methodology that was approved.
This proposal includes sending an electronic form via email to Livre’s members and supporters between Wednesday and Thursday. The questionnaire will contain four questions, starting with whether the party should support a candidate for the 2026 presidential elections from within its own political space.
The second question asks if Livre should support its deputy Jorge Pinto, who has recently announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic.
Members are then asked if the party should support a candidate from another political area, and if so, which one.
The regulation states, “Any answer to the fourth question is considered valid if it clearly and unequivocally indicates one of the candidates who has already declared their candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic in the upcoming presidential election.”
The results of this internal consultation, expected to be released on Friday, are non-binding. The final decision will be made at a new Assembly meeting, taking into account the opinion of the members.
The methodology proposal recalls that similar internal consultations were conducted in the past, such as when the party supported António Sampaio da Nóvoa in 2016, securing 87.1% of the votes from Livre members, or in 2021, when Ana Gomes received 88.93% favorable votes following a consultation.
The Livre leadership, including members like Rui Tavares, Isabel Mendes Lopes, and deputies Filipa Pinto and Jorge Pinto, stated that the left-wing candidacies presented so far “do not represent the political area of Livre: progressive, ecologist, and Europeanist.”
“Given that, for the first time, a candidacy has been presented by a Livre member who has demonstrated communication skills, combativeness, and representation of the values and ideals of Livre, the Group of Contact believes Livre should declare support for Jorge Pinto’s candidacy,” the leadership stated in the text.
According to the leadership, “this candidacy will allow the political space represented by Livre and all those who have trusted Livre to have a direct intervention in the presidential debate.”
On the left, besides Jorge Pinto, candidacies for the Presidency of the Republic have already been announced by António José Seguro, supported by PS, António Filipe, supported by PCP, and Catarina Martins, supported by BE.
The presidential elections are scheduled for January 2026.
