The 14 political parties running for the early elections on the 26th of May in Madeira plan to spend 949,678.34 euros on the campaign, according to budgets consulted by Lusa, with the PSD leading the spending: 340,000 euros.
Of the 13 parties and one coalition that submitted lists of candidates to the Court of Funchal, the campaign budgets of the Left Bloc (BE), Socialist Party (PS), Free (L), Liberal Initiative (IL), React, Include, Recycle (RIR), CDU – Unitary Democratic Coalition (PCP/PEV), have been published since the 16th of April on the website of the Entity for Political Accounts and Financing (ECFP), the campaign budgets of the Left Bloc (BE), Socialist Party (PS), Free (L), Liberal Initiative (IL), React, Include, Recycle (RIR), CDU – Unitary Democratic Coalition (PCP/PEV), Chega (CH), CDS – People’s Party (CDS-PP), Land Party (MPT), Social Democratic Party (PPD/PSD), People-Animals-Nature (PAN), Labour Party Portuguese (PTP) and Together for the People (JPP).
According to the website of the Entity for Political Accounts and Financing, the National Democratic Alternative (ADN), which is the first political force on the ballot paper, did not deliver the budget, but the head of the party’s list, Miguel Pita, told the Lusa agency that the document will be sent today, indicating that the amount is 10,000 euros.
The PSD is the party that plans to spend the most money on the election campaign, which runs from the 14th to the 24th of May spending 340,000 euros, of which 250,000 is from the state subsidy and 90,000 from contributions from political parties.
The largest slice of the Social Democrats’ budget – €90,000 – will be channelled into propaganda, print, and digital communication, followed by structures, posters, banners (€75,000), giveaways, and other gifts (€75,000), with rallies and entertainment costing €60,000.
According to the budgets available on the ECFP website, the PS is the second party to invest the most in the campaign – 150,000 euros, the entire amount of which comes from the state subsidy – channelling the largest share (75,000) to rallies and shows.
This is followed by the CDS-PP, with an estimated expenditure of 100,000 euros, of which 25,000 is for structures, posters and screens.
The JPP plans to spend €96,100 on the campaign, with the largest slice (€20,000) going to structures, posters and screens.
The CDU is the fifth political force with the highest budget (80,000 euros), followed by IL (60,000), BE (42,720), PAN (30,358.34), Chega (25,000), Livre (10,000), PTP (5,000) and RIR (500).
The MPT does not estimate spending any amount, as was the case in the 2019 and 2023 elections.
In the September 2023 regional legislative elections, two coalitions competed – PSD/CDS-PP and CDU (PCP/PEV) – and 11 other parties: PTP, JPP, BE, PS, Chega, RIR, MPT, ADN, PAN, Livre and IL, which presented a global forecast of campaign spending in the order of 1,133,816.95 euros.
PS presented the highest value (400 thousand euros), while the PSD and CDS-PP, which that year ran in coalition, pointed to 380 thousand euros.
Among the 47 mandates awarded in the 2023 elections, the PSD/CDS-PP coalition got 23 deputies, the PS elected 11, the JPP five and Chega four, while the CDU, IL, PAN and BE elected one deputy each.
The early elections come eight months after the most recent regional legislative elections, after the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, dissolved the Madeiran parliament, following the political crisis triggered in January, when the leader of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, was investigated for corruption.
Subsequently, Albuquerque submitted his resignation.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
