The President of the Republic convened the Council of State for the 17th of January, after hearing the parties represented in the Regional Legislative Assembly of Madeira, following the motion of censure on the Regional Government.
A date that, from the outset, rules out the possibility of holding elections on the 9th of March, as most parties wanted.
The electoral law requires a minimum of 55 days before the date of the elections (Article 19 of the electoral law). For this reason, the original date has to be abandoned.
If he decides to dissolve the regional parliament soon after the Council of State meeting, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will still be able to schedule elections for the 16th of March, but if he delays his decision the elections may take place on the 23rd.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
