The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, declined to comment on the candidacy of the Chega leader, André Ventura, for the presidency, announced this afternoon.
“I cannot comment on presidential candidacies,” stated Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, noting that he has been asked about all candidates and has consistently refused to respond.
“Another candidacy. I cannot comment,” he said.
It should be noted that the president of Chega, André Ventura, announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic this Tuesday.
“I will be a candidate in the 2026 presidential elections. I am running because I believe in the circumstances we have been placed in, we have no other choice but to defeat the system in these elections as well,” Ventura announced at a press conference at the Chega headquarters in Lisbon.
In a speech where he stated that he had sought other names to advance to Belém, Ventura reiterated: “I did not wish to be a candidate.”
André Ventura stated that “it was not his desire” to advance with a candidacy for Belém but justified that this would also be a way to lead the opposition. The Chega leader leveled criticisms at the candidates.
Ana Teresa Banha with Lusa | 17:22 – 16/09/2025
Presidential elections are expected to take place on January 18
The President also admitted that he is more “inclined towards the date of January 18” for the presidential elections “for two reasons.”
The first concerns the deadline for submitting candidacies, which ends one month before the chosen election date. If the election were scheduled for January 25, it would mean the deadline would fall on Christmas Day, December 25, which “is more complicated from a bureaucratic point of view.”
The second, “more important” reason is related to the fact that, in the event of a second round of elections, with the first on January 25, it would coincide with Carnival Sunday.
“In case there is a second round – and a president should foresee this when setting the date – the period between the first and second rounds is 21 days. This would place the second round on Carnival Sunday. That does not seem sensible,” explained the Portuguese head of state.
Therefore, if not on January 25, the most likely date for the presidential elections is January 18.
However, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa added a caveat: “This is my initial thought, but it is not yet a formalization, which will happen in due time.”
