“Following the tragedy that claimed the lives of more than a dozen people in the Elevador da Glória crash in Lisbon, the PSD decided to cancel the National Autarchic Convention, which was scheduled for next Sunday in Porto,” stated the ruling party in a release.
In the wake of the accident, the CDS-PP, also part of the executive, announced the cancellation of its political comeback event, initially planned for Saturday in Vale de Cambra.
The party leader, Nuno Melo, also canceled his entire party agenda through Monday.
The CDS-PP was set to hold its political ‘rentrée’ on Saturday, featuring a “social gathering” in Vale de Cambra, in the Aveiro district. The event would have included speeches by the party leader, the centrist candidate for the Vale de Cambra Municipal Council, Martins Silva, and the leader of the Popular Youth, Catarina Marinho.
Also scheduled for Saturday was a demonstration called by Chega “against the halt to the foreigners’ law,” which was to start from the Lisbon Congress Center and end in front of the Belém Palace.
“Due to the tragedy at the Elevador da Glória and the official mourning subsequently decreed, Chega decided to postpone the demonstration that was scheduled for next Saturday in Lisbon regarding the foreigners’ law,” the party announced in a note today.
This demonstration was initially planned for August 24 and had already been postponed once due to fires.
For this weekend, the PS’s autarchic convention in Coimbra, the PCP’s Festa do Avante! in Seixal, and the 16th Congress of Livre in Porto remain scheduled.
The Elevador da Glória, in Lisbon, derailed on Wednesday, resulting in 16 deaths and two dozen injuries, involving both Portuguese and foreign nationals.
The Government declared a national day of mourning, which is observed today. Meanwhile, the Lisbon City Hall declared three days of municipal mourning from today until Saturday.
