Paulo Estêvão, Secretary-General of the monarchists, confirmed the party’s decision to appeal to the Constitutional Court’s plenary. He stated that the court’s initial ruling, which denied the use of the designation “AD – Aliança Democrática – PSD/CDS”, is “unequivocal” and dictates that “there is no possibility of referencing the Aliança Democrática or AD.”
The Constitutional Court approved the name “AD — Coligação PSD/CDS” in a decision reached by five judges. According to the electoral law for the Assembly of the Republic, coalition or party representatives have twenty-four hours from the publication of the notice to “appeal the decision to the plenary of the Constitutional Court.”
Once the appeal is submitted, the Constitutional Court has forty-eight hours to issue a decision. The plenary consists of 13 judges.
The Constitutional Court had initially rejected the proposal “AD – Aliança Democrática – PSD/CDS” for the upcoming legislative elections on May 18, arguing that it could mislead voters since the PPM would not be included this time, unlike the election a year ago.
The current ruling, published on the court’s website, concluded that “there is no impediment to the coalition between the Social Democratic Party (PPD/PSD) and the CDS — People’s Party (CDS-PP)” participating in constituencies of the Mainland, Madeira, Europe, and outside Europe with the acronym “PPD/PSD.CDS-PP” and the name “AD — Coligação PSD/CDS.”
The ruling further noted, “It is observed that the name, acronym, and symbol of the coalition under review do not violate any laws and cannot be confused with those of other parties or coalitions formed by other parties,” according to the report by José Teles Pereira, a rapporteur elected by parliament upon the PSD’s proposal.
