2023-11-09 21:23:52
A dissolved parliament and early legislative elections next March: this is what Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa decided following the resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced this Thursday evening the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of early legislative elections on March 10, 2024, following the resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa, involved in a corruption scandal. “I have opted for the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic and the calling of elections on March 10,” declared the conservative head of state during a televised speech.
Antonio Costa will continue to lead the government until his successor takes office.
The president thanked Mr. Costa “for his availability” to continue to lead the government until his successor takes office. The conservative president spoke following hearing a few hours earlier from members of the Council of State, a consultative body, on the political situation in the country.
M. Rebelo de Sousa the choisi of call elections, as demanded by the main right and left opposition parties that he received on Wednesday, in order to overcome the political crisis caused by the surprise resignation of Mr. Costa. He did not accept the proposal of the Socialists, who would have preferred a solution of continuity, with the appointment of a new Prime Minister who would govern supported by the majority they have in Parliament. This outcome would not be ideal because the Prime Minister “would not be legitimized by the popular vote”explained the president.
The head of the Portuguese government, one of the rare socialists at the head of a European government, was splashed on Tuesday by an investigation relating in particular to suspicions of “corruption” and “influence peddling” in the allocation of concessions for the extraction of lithium and the production of green hydrogen. Suspected of having intervened “to unblock procedures” in the context of this affair, Antonio Costa will be the subject of an independent investigation, according to the prosecution.
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