Rubina Leal has been nominated by the PSD to serve as the president of the Madeira parliament, a role held since 2019 by José Manuel Rodrigues of the Christian Democratic party, who will now take on the position of regional secretary of the Economy under the government led by Social Democrat Miguel Albuquerque.
The PSD emerged victorious in the regional legislative elections on March 23, winning 23 seats, just one short of an absolute majority, and established a parliamentary and governmental agreement with CDS-PP, which secured one seat in the Legislative Assembly.
This agreement ensures an absolute majority in the regional parliament, which comprises 47 deputies.
Apart from the majority parties, the 15th Legislature includes the JPP with 11 deputies, which will now lead the opposition, the PS with eight seats, Chega with three, and IL with one.
During today’s plenary session, two of the three vice-presidents of the Legislative Assembly will be elected, namely José Prada from the PSD and Rafael Nunes from the JPP.
The election of the third vice-president, also nominated by the PSD, is scheduled for April 23. This position is intended for Rafaela Fernandes, the current regional secretary of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment, who will continue in her role until the new executive is sworn in on April 15.
Clara Tiago and Cláudia Gomes have been nominated by the PSD for secretary and vice-secretary of the regional parliament’s board, while the JPP nominated Patrícia Spínola and the PS nominated Marta Freitas for second and third vice-secretaries.
Miguel Albuquerque, the president of the Madeiran executive since 2015, was once again nominated to form a government by the representative of the Republic for the region, Ireneu Barreto.
The social democrat was implicated in a corruption investigation at the start of 2024. He resigned but was re-elected in May during early elections. However, his minority executive collapsed with the passage of a no-confidence motion introduced by Chega in December.
The regional legislative elections on March 23 were the third held in Madeira in roughly a year and a half, with 14 lists in the running in a single constituency: CDU (PCP/PEV), PSD, Livre, JPP, Nova Direita, PAN, Força Madeira (PTP/MPT/RIR), PS, IL, PPM, BE, Chega, ADN, and CDS-PP.
The election took place 10 months after the previous one, following the approval of the no-confidence motion tabled by Chega—citing judicial investigations involving members of the regional government, including Miguel Albuquerque—and the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly by the President of the Republic.
