“My first word is, in fact, a greeting to this wonderful city of ours, which today once again demonstrated its greatness, its civility, and how wisely it knows, if I may say so, to decide in key moments what it wants for its future,” stated Pedro Duarte.
At his campaign headquarters on Avenida dos Aliados, the leader of the O Porto Somos Nós candidacy also extended a “special greeting” to Manuel Pizarro (PS), whom he expressed “political admiration” for, describing him as “a great Porto citizen” who “will remain available to help the city.”
“We are living in times when democracy is under threat. In non-democratic regimes, there are also winners. What does not exist in non-democratic regimes are those who fail to achieve their goals. Therefore, my first congratulations (…) go to those who did not achieve their objectives today in this election. The other 11 candidates did not come in first, but they are also winners tonight,” said the former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
Pedro Duarte believed that democracy won today and that it “is won with those who win elections and with those who do not come in first place.”
The candidate expressed gratitude for the trust placed in him during the “special and challenging” campaign.
“We reject political correctness. We reject following political analysts who repeatedly gave us advice and suggestions in the media. We reject following waves that tried to manipulate and induce us in a certain direction. We have always been close to the people, focusing on the interest of the residents of Porto above any other objective,” he declared.
After praising some names from his lists, Pedro Duarte suggested that he was not only elected the new mayor of Porto but also “a new leader for Northern Portugal.”
When asked about a possible coalition with Chega, he assured that he would maintain everything he said during his campaign, rejecting agreements with the party.
“I will respect all those who were elected in the same way. At this time, any kind of agreement is not on the table,” he added.
[News updated at 02:33]
