“The president does not have the conditions to continue in office,” stated Jorge Pedrosa, a councilor from the PSD/CDS coalition in the Braga district municipality.
The Social Democrat, speaking at a press conference, asserted that the executive leader should have “sensibly” suspended his duties as soon as the matter surfaced in the media.
The newspaper Observador recently disclosed that Victor Hugo Salgado is under investigation for alleged domestic violence. The paper also reported that the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the GNR confirm that an inquiry has been opened against the mayor.
Addressing the issue, Vizela’s opposition leader insisted that the public crime of domestic violence “cannot be trivialized” and emphasized his inability, as a councilor and opposition leader, to remain indifferent to such a publicized matter.
He also noted that the mayor has yet to present “any form of justification for the claims” when confronted by the opposition during the municipal executive meeting today.
“We will wait patiently for the president to comment on this matter because we consider it extremely important,” he stressed.
The opposition leader further questioned whether the mayor believes he has the conditions to seek re-election, particularly after the national Socialist Party informed him that they would not support him in the upcoming municipal elections.
On Monday, Victor Hugo Salgado announced his decision to resign from the leadership of the PS Federation in Braga and expressed regret over the party’s choice not to back his bid for re-election to the Vizela City Council.
Emphasizing he had not been heard or accused in any process, the mayor argued that the Socialist Party acted prematurely “by expressing a position of non-support for his candidacy in the next municipal elections,” a stance he professes to regret.
Regarding reports of alleged assaults on his wife, the Socialist mayor of Vizela stated, “in response to the public’s rushed judgment, I am unaware of any process.”
“I have not been named a defendant and am fully available to provide statements before any judicial body,” he declared in a press release.
