At a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Lisbon, Nuno Melo announced that former leader Paulo Portas will not be a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections next year.
“Dr. Paulo Portas will not be a candidate in these presidential elections. Until now, we had Dr. Paulo Portas as a possibility, but it is now clear that he will not be a candidate in these presidential elections,” he stated.
The CDS-PP held its National Council today, the party’s highest body between congresses, with the presidential elections being one of the agenda’s topics.
While the meeting was still ongoing, the party leader indicated that this gathering served to hear the opinion of the council members and that a decision would not be made today.
“Once all national council members have been heard, I will request a mandate so that in a forthcoming meeting of the party’s executive committee, this candidacy can be decided,” said the president of CDS-PP, pointing to a “high probability” of this meeting taking place next week.
Nuno Melo noted that some party leaders have already expressed personal support but “the party’s institutional stance is yet to be determined.” He highlighted that “CDS is one of the parties within the AD coalition and is part of the Government.”
The centrist leader stated that it is necessary to consider “the factual circumstances” in choosing a candidate to support.
Nuno Melo asserted that the party will only consider “candidates who represent the essence of a democratic rule of law, which CDS helps to build every day, having been a founding party 50 years ago,” excluding “extremes of any kind.”
“Now, we will listen to the national council members and will likely present a candidate next week. It will be a candidate who aligns with the values that are non-negotiable for our party, values that we consider relevant for a President of the Republic, in a country that we help to build daily, from local councils to the European Parliament, including the Government and autonomous regions,” he said.
The PSD, with which CDS-PP has formed a coalition in recent elections, has already declared support for former leader Luís Marques Mendes.
