Maria do Carmo Gomes, President of the Council of Jurisdiction of Chega Madeira, highlighted André Ventura’s victory in Madeira in yesterday’s Presidential elections, stressing that the result demonstrates that “the system needs a shake-up” and that the country “is on the right track.” André Ventura was the second most voted candidate in all of Portugal and its outermost regions after António José Seguro (PS), and is now in the second round.
According to the leader, André Ventura’s win in Madeira shows the right’s success in this first round, with the Chega candidate clearly taking centre stage. He stressed that, in the second round, the democratic right must unite to make Portugal ‘a dignified country,’ breaking away from a political system that, he claims, has persisted for over fifty years.
Asked about the statements of the PSD leader, Luís Montenegro, who’s inital reaction was not to support either of the top two candidates. Responding to this, Maria do Carmo Gomes pointed out that the PSD reveals that it does not identify itself as a right-wing party.”
Regarding the campaign for the second round, the leader of Chega Madeira said that there is already a solid and loyal electorate to the party in the region, but that it will be possible to win new voters. To do so, he guaranteed that Chega will continue to do the same work developed so far: presence on the ground, direct contact with people, and active listening to their concerns.
In total, 44,822 Madeirans voted for Chega, taking 33.40% of the votes, with António José Seguro coming second with 30,608 votes (22.81%). These figures were almost reversed on the mainland.
Of the two other notable names, Luís Marques Mendes came third with 19,690 votes. President Miguel Albuquerque came under fire as, during an interview, he was seen to be pushing Luís Marques Mendes, his favourite candidate, as a certain choice for the people. This was also a man the polls didn’t think would make it, and who was favoured because of his stance on the Social Mobility Allowance.
Secondly, retired Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo came fifth with 10,882 votes. His failure to attract Madeiran voters may be because of the NRP incident, where he tried to have 13 Naval personnel court-martialled for insubordination. They refused to follow a Russian research ship as they believed their ship was unseaworthy and liable to sink.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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