The president of Chega declared the municipal election results a positive achievement after securing leadership in three municipalities, stating the party had established its presence at a local level, aiming to become a significant force in municipal governance.
André Ventura acknowledged that the results did not meet his expectations, expressing a desire for a greater number of municipalities won.
He emphasized the importance of becoming a local power, stating, “Parties of power must be municipal parties. We’ve taken the first step today, but remain far from our goals. This party no longer strives for second or third place; it aims to win. We didn’t win today, but we will fight to do so,” accepting responsibility for the results.
Throughout the campaign, Ventura aimed for municipal leadership positions, aspiring to match legislative election results in terms of votes.
Ventura committed to working towards transforming national victories into greater local successes, aspiring for more council presidencies and representatives in municipal and parish assemblies to initiate necessary changes in the country.
He reported that Chega has elected “hundreds of local officials” across various municipal bodies.
Ventura claimed that Chega had marked the political landscape, saying the party now faces the task and opportunity to demonstrate its effectiveness where it governs or holds a decisive role in municipal management.
He argued that since the legislative elections in May, the era of bipartisanship had ended, but it made a temporary comeback that night.
He reflected on political battles, indicating that while total success was not achieved, steps toward dismantling the corrupt bipartisanship in Portugal were underway, hindered by inherent systemic flaws in both local and national politics.
Looking forward, Ventura stressed the importance of destroying and reshaping bipartisanship during the presidential elections in January.
He expressed confidence about winning the first round of the presidential elections, viewing the current results as a stepping stone towards ending bipartisanship by January 18.
When questioned about the results in Sintra, where deputy Rita Matias placed third, Ventura deemed it a “great result” despite not meeting all expectations.
Discussing outcomes against legislative results, he attributed differences to local choices and the unique contexts and dynamics of municipal elections.
In response to previous remarks about securing more presidencies than CDU or CDS, Ventura pointed to discrepancies in votes and mandates, refusing to accept the notion of defeat.
Following his speech, André Ventura announced his forthcoming visit to Entroncamento, highlighting it as a municipality where Chega emerged victorious.
When asked for comments on the Lisbon results, Chega’s candidate Bruno Mascarenhas opted to wait until vote counting concluded.
