The candidate for the Porto City Council, Filipe Araújo, accused the Social Democratic Party (PSD) on Friday of attempting a “palace coup” that was ultimately “halted” by the judiciary.
The issue arises from the PSD’s challenge to the lists of parish councils in Porto. In a statement sent to Notícias ao Minuto, the candidate from the independent movement ‘Filipe Araújo: Fazer à Porto’ noted that the PSD believed the movement “should have submitted 3% of signatures.”
“However, since the Movement presented candidates to all municipal bodies, the law states, and the Court now confirms, that it only needs to submit 1% of proposers for the parish council candidacies, something that ‘Filipe Araújo: Fazer à Porto’ fulfilled scrupulously,” the statement defends, referring to the decision by the Porto District Court, which “considered all the PSD’s arguments ‘unfounded’.”
“The Court’s decision pertains to the challenge of the Aldoar, Nevolgilde, and Foz do Douro parish councils. Considering that the independent candidacy is singular and they are confident in the legality of the processes, the independents calmly await the decisions of the remaining parishes,” it reads.
The decision, as stated in the note, thus halts the “party’s [PSD] attempt of a ‘palace coup’ and to ‘win at the desk’ to remove the independent movement from the municipal race.”
In a quoted conference, Filipe Araújo stated that the “the PSD candidate does not seem to handle democracy well, wanting to condition from the outset the choice of Porto residents, and he seems afraid to compete, to debate with me, and to confront ideas, projects, and future vision.”
Araújo further expressed confidence in a victory in the municipal elections, scheduled for October 12, asserting that he is in the race “positively, with seriousness and with his head held high.”
In the note, the municipal candidate also mentions another challenge posed by the movement he leads, considering these requests “completely different from those presented by the PSD.”
He explains that “the social democrats wanted to overthrow the independent candidacy” and, “in contrast, the Movement’s challenge only refers to a request to correct a detail in the candidacies of Nuno Cardoso and António Araújo, related to the candidates’ first names on the parish council ballots, something that is easily correctable and does not stop any of the candidacies.”
Contenders in the Porto City Council elections include Manuel Pizarro (PS), Diana Ferreira (CDU – PCP/PEV coalition), Nuno Cardoso (Porto Primeiro – NC/PPM coalition), Aníbal Pinto (Nova Direita), Pedro Duarte (PSD/IL/CDS-PP), Sérgio Aires (BE), the current vice-president Filipe Araújo (independent movement), António Araújo (independent movement), Alexandre Guilherme Jorge (Volt), Hélder Sousa (Livre), and Miguel Corte-Real (Chega).
The current executive is composed of a majority of six members from Rui Moreira’s movement and one independent councilor, while the remaining seats are held by two members from PS, two from PSD, one from CDU, and one from BE.
This campaign in Porto has also been marked by some controversies, one of which involves Filipe Araújo and Vasco Ribeiro, the then communication director of the campaign for former minister Pedro Duarte [PSD].
Vasco Ribeiro, communications director for Pedro Duarte’s campaign for Porto City Council, resigned following a “regrettable incident” with candidate and vice-president Filipe Araújo. He described it as a “heated discussion.” The former minister and even opponents have condemned the incident.
Notícias ao Minuto with Lusa | 23:50 – 13/06/2025
This is because the communication official, who resigned after the controversy, was accused of assaulting Filipe Araújo during the Primavera Sound Festival in June. He defended himself, stating it was a “heated discussion,” but later stepped down from his role in the campaign.
Among others, Pedro Duarte condemned the situation, describing it as “indefensible,” stating that it in no way reflected the values of his candidacy.
Read Also: Filipe Araújo presents councilor candidates for Porto City Council
