The leader of the Chega party, André Ventura, has dubbed the upcoming elections a “trial by fire,” aiming to secure municipal victories across the country. Ventura expressed confidence that the party will win the local elections, following the fourth place they achieved nationally in the municipal elections of September 2021.
The expectation is that the local elections will reflect the party’s improved performance in subsequent elections, where Chega emerged as the second-largest political force in the Assembly of the Republic and gained representation in the European Parliament and regional legislative assemblies.
The party plans to field candidates in all municipalities nationwide, as announced by leader André Ventura and confirmed by Chega’s municipal leadership to Lusa.
Following André Ventura’s call for parliament members to prepare for the October 12 election challenge, Chega’s strategy includes positioning all deputies, except the leader, as heads of list for municipal executives and assemblies, confirmed by the party’s municipal leadership to Lusa.
Chega has not provided detailed information on the distribution of deputies leading city council or municipal assembly lists. They only stated that “the participation of deputies in local elections is an asset to local communities, bringing the experience, knowledge, and political responsibility gained in parliament to municipal governance.”
Notable deputy candidates include parliamentary leader Pedro Pinto leading the party’s list for the Faro City Council with the slogan “Make Faro Great Again,” inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump, and Rita Matias, leader of Chega’s youth wing, running for the Sintra City Council, where Basílio Horta (PS) is stepping down due to term limits.
Other deputies in the fray are Rui Paulo Sousa in Amadora, Bruno Nunes in Loures, and former PSD member Rui Cristina in Albufeira. Municipal coordinator Carlos Magno is running in Almada.
In Lisbon, Chega is backing Bruno Mascarenhas, who has previously served as a municipal deputy. In 2021, the party’s candidate for the president of the capital’s city council was former TV presenter Nuno Graciano, who failed to secure a councilor position.
In Porto, where the party did not elect any councilors in 2021, the candidate is Miguel Côrte-Real, who led the municipal group of the PSD in Porto’s Municipal Assembly from 2021 to 2024.
In 2021, Chega, led by André Ventura, garnered 4.16% of the votes (208,232 ballots) nationwide, according to the Ministry of Internal Administration’s general-secretariat. Although they established a presence in seven districts, they fell short of becoming the third largest political force nationally, trailing behind CDU.
In those elections, Chega’s president ran as the head of the list for the Municipal Assembly of Moura in the Beja district, after securing 30.85% of the vote in the presidential elections the same year. In the local elections, they ranked as the third political force, behind PS and CDU.
Chega contested 220 municipalities in the last local elections, running independently, and elected 19 councilors. These were the party’s first local elections after its formal establishment two years prior.
Among the 19 councilors elected, several have since split from the party to become independents, including Nuno Afonso, who co-founded Chega with Ventura and was the party’s second member. The party acknowledged “serious casting errors” following these departures.
