The Volt candidate for the Rio Maior City Hall in the district of Santarém, Jorge Silva, reported experiencing “various acts and intimidating phone calls” over the past month, which escalated on the night of Thursday to Friday with “an attack on the family residence.”
In a complaint against unknown individuals filed on Friday with the GNR of Rio Maior, Jorge Silva stated that “a car stopped in front of the house around 03:50, and four men got out and began banging on the door and window panes.”
For several minutes, the four individuals “uttered intimidating and threatening phrases,” the candidate reported, specifying that they said, “come outside, we’ll take care of you,” or “you will pay…” actions that caused “a strong impact and fear in the family.”
The threat, captured in a video submitted to the GNR, followed an incident on Friday, the 19th, “during a board meeting, when an improvised explosive device was detonated at the campaign headquarters,” he explained.
This incident, reported to the GNR, occurred around 23:00 while five campaign members were present, causing “damage to the building, with plaster falling from the wall of a counter,” the candidate stated.
The remains of the device were handed over to the GNR, which is now investigating the case.
In addition to these incidents, Jorge Silva informed that members of the candidate list have been “targeted by pressures and intimidation, phone calls, messages, and attempts to remove publications on social media,” as well as “damage to cars, with scratches or broken glass.”
Volt Portugal co-president Inês Bravo Figueiredo stated that “given the severity of the events,” the party will lodge a “formal complaint with the National Elections Commission (CNE) and request support from law enforcement to protect the candidates’ integrity” in that municipality.
Rejecting the notion that “democracy is undermined by behaviors aiming to silence voices and prevent the exchange of ideas,” Volt Portugal condemned the acts it considers unworthy “of a democratic and secure country” and pledged to proceed with the complaint, not only for its candidates but “for all who refuse fear as a political tool and defend freedom as a non-negotiable value.”
Inês Bravo Figueiredo also appealed “to all competing political forces to sensitize their members and supporters to the importance of a fair, ethical, and respectful campaign and to see differences as opportunities for growth, not hostility.”
“Just as Volt respects all candidates and parties running in Rio Maior, we expect that respect to be reciprocal,” concluded the party’s co-president, noting that there is no record of such acts in other municipalities where the party is contesting the upcoming municipal elections: Tomar (in the district of Santarém), Faro and Loulé (in the Algarve region), Lisbon and Porto.
The party is also part of coalitions in Coimbra, Torres Vedras, and Oeiras (all in the district of Lisbon).
Municipal elections are scheduled for October 12.
