In the recent legislative elections held on Sunday, Chega successfully increased its parliamentary representation by at least eight deputies compared to the elections of 2024. The final count is still pending, particularly concerning the votes from the emigrant constituencies, which will elect four deputies.
Chega is set to introduce at least 15 new members to its parliamentary group. Among these new faces is Ricardo Reis, who served as a political advisor for the party in the Assembly of the Republic over the past year. Reis is a member of the Chega Youth leadership and an alternate member of the party’s National Jurisdiction Council. He was elected from the Setúbal district, where he held the sixth position on the list.
In October of the previous year, Reis was involved in a controversy following his reaction on Twitter to the death of Odair Moniz, a Cape Verdean citizen who was fatally shot by a PSP officer in the Cova da Moura neighborhood. Reis posted: “One less criminal… one less voter for the Bloc.”
At the time, the Public Prosecutor’s Office announced an inquiry into these statements, as well as those made by Chega’s leader, André Ventura, and the parliamentary leader, Pedro Pinto.
Ricardo Lopes Reis was elected as a deputy for Setúbal in Sunday’s elections. He became more widely known in October after a controversial social media post.
Notícias ao Minuto with Lusa | 09:06 – 20/05/2025
Several young individuals were elected deputies for Chega on Sunday. In addition to Ricardo Reis, Lina Pinheiro, coordinator of the Chega Youth for Vila Nova de Famalicão, was elected from Braga. Rui Cardoso, a parliamentary advisor for education, youth leader, and candidate for Viana do Alentejo’s municipal chamber, was elected from Lisbon, holding the 11th slot on the list.
Paulo Seco, head of the Coimbra district, and Patrícia Almeida, municipal deputy in Loures and vice-president of the Lisbon district, are among the advisors transitioning to seats in the plenary, elected from Coimbra and Lisbon, respectively.
João Lopes Aleixo was elected from the Portalegre district. He chairs the Convention and National Council of the party and, since February, has served as a municipal deputy in Lisbon, succeeding Nuno Pardal, who faced charges of child prostitution.
In the Azores district, Francisco Lima replaced Miguel Arruda, accused of luggage theft at the airport, as the lead candidate. A veterinarian and businessman in the chemical products sector, Francisco Lima has been serving as a deputy in the regional parliament of the Azores and is expected to move to Lisbon for the new term.
Also elected from Setúbal was Cláudia Estêvão, a nurse and board member of Chega in the Parish Assembly of Quinta do Anjo, in Palmela.
Another local official elected to the Assembly of the Republic is António Ricardo Moreira, adjunct of Chega’s Faro district, municipal deputy in Olhão, and a candidate for the same municipal chamber in the Algarve region.
Cristina Vieira, a doctor, was elected as a deputy for Leiria. She serves as an adjunct of the Leiria District Political Committee and has been announced as a candidate for the Óbidos Municipal Chamber in this year’s local elections. In last year’s European elections, she was an alternate on the party’s candidate list for the European Parliament.
Catarina Salgueiro, a lawyer and candidate for the Almeirim municipal chamber, was elected as a deputy for Santarém. José Dotti, Chega’s district leader, also secured a seat as the second candidate on the list from the same district.
Pedro Tavares dos Santos, secretary of Chega’s Aveiro District Political Committee, is another new name joining the party’s deputies. On his Facebook profile, he has expressed opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine and pandemic protection measures, such as mask mandates.
In Porto, Idalina Moreira Costa, a lawyer, was elected alongside Patrícia Nascimento.
