“I have a vocation, which has always been known, to fulfill my mandates, and when I am focused on a mandate, it is that mandate that I exercise. I focus my energies and my ability to exercise that mandate to the best of my knowledge,” said Aguiar-Branco.
At least 28 deputies elected approximately two months ago are set to run for the presidency of various municipal councils.
“Regarding the underlying issue, there is a right [of the deputies] to do so,” stated the president of the Assembly of the Republic.
According to Aguiar-Branco, if the deputies believe this right “should not be and should not exist,” parliamentary groups have the option to amend the law.
The majority of deputies who have announced candidacies for mayor (21) are from Chega, with the remaining from PSD (six) and the Liberal Initiative (one).
This phenomenon is not new, but the curiosity now lies in the fact that less than five months separate the municipal elections, already scheduled for October 12, from the legislative elections of last May 18, which “raises questions about the commitment of parliamentarians to their respective mandates.”
The president of the Assembly of the Republic resumed today in the district of Faro his initiative “Parlamento próximo,” during which he will meet with local mayors and institutional leaders.
With this initiative, launched during the previous legislature and having been conducted in the districts of Vila Real, Leiria, Guarda, and Évora, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco aims to bring the Assembly of the Republic, as a sovereign body, closer to the activities and issues of civilian representative organizations in each region of the country.
The president of the Assembly of the Republic is accompanied by the deputies elected from the Faro constituency.
