Rui Rocha will be the candidate of Iniciativa Liberal (IL) for the presidency of the Braga City Council, as announced on Monday.
This announcement comes after Rui Rocha’s resignation from party leadership at the end of May, citing that IL did not achieve the “political prominence” it sought in the legislative elections of May 18.
In a video shared on Braga IL’s social media, Rui Rocha is seen arriving by train in his hometown, walking through the streets, and conversing with some citizens.
“It feels great to be home,” said Rui Rocha in the video, thereby announcing his candidacy for this year’s local elections.
“A new ENERGY for Braga is arriving at platform No. 2. The time has come to change the city’s direction. With fresh ideas, freedom in the baggage, and the right energy to get Braga moving. Change has arrived. Come aboard,” reads the video’s caption.
A source from the candidacy informed Lusa that the formalization will take place on Thursday. The presentation is scheduled for Saturday, June 28, at Casa dos Coimbras.
Rui Rocha, who was president of IL between 2023 and 2025, has been a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic since 2022, repeatedly elected as the head of the list for the Braga electoral district.
Upon announcing his resignation with immediate effect, Rui Rocha, 55, thanked “everyone” who accompanied him and promised to be “a grassroots member of Iniciativa Liberal,” maintaining his role as a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic while continuing to contribute to the IL’s political debates and battles in the future.
Rui Rocha announced his commitment to his mandate as a party deputy in the Assembly of the Republic.
Notícias ao Minuto | 18:08 – 31/05/2025
Until now, only Mariana Leitão, the current parliamentary leader of the party, has announced her candidacy for the leadership of IL, also withdrawing from the presidential elections. She expressed a desire to “gather a movement that inspires change in the country” and to count on “everyone’s contribution.”
Referring to Rui Rocha’s resignation, Mariana Leitão mentioned that the party “has built a lot” in recent years and had “significance in the affirmation of liberal ideas in the country.” “But now that the country is starting a new political cycle, IL also needs to begin a new cycle of energy and transformation,” she asserted.
At 42 and holding a degree in International Relations, Mariana Leitão joined IL in June 2019. From 2020 to 2022, she served as the president of the party’s National Council and from 2022 to 2024, she was the chief of staff of the IL parliamentary group.
At IL’s last National Convention in February, she was elected vice-president of the party, on the leadership list presented by Rui Rocha, who has since resigned.
[Updated at 16:30]
