In the agenda, there were four debates scheduled for 37 minutes each, expected to conclude before 1:00 PM. However, numerous interruptions and asides meant that proceedings extended well past 2:00 PM.
This was followed by a voting session, outlined in an 18-page script, a typical length for Fridays. The session was overseen by Vice-President of Chega, Diogo Pacheco de Amorim, who was substituting for the absent President José Pedro Aguiar-Branco.
Throughout the hour and a half-long session, mistakes were made regarding vote outcomes, order, and even procedural methodology, with audible assistance from the secretaries of the board to the acting president.
At 3:45 PM, without a lunch break since 10:00 AM, Pacheco de Amorim concluded the votes and announced the reading of the next week’s agenda, prompting a general exodus of approximately 80 deputies still present in the chamber.
“I renew my apologies,” the deputy stated at the end, having previously mentioned his inexperience in conducting voting processes.
