16th Legislature of the Third Portuguese Republic explained

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16th Legislature of the Third Portuguese Republic
Body:Assembly of the Republic
Meeting Place:Palace of Saint Benedict
Election:10 March 2024
Government:XXIV Constitutional Government
Term Start:26 March 2024
Term End:present
Before:15th Legislature
Chamber1:Deputies
Chamber1 Image:Composition of the Portuguese Republic Assembly March 2024.png
Membership1:230
Chamber1 Leader1 Type:President
Chamber1 Leader1:José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, PPD/PSD
Chamber1 Leader2 Type:First Vice-President
Chamber1 Leader2:Teresa Morais, PPD/PSD
Chamber1 Leader3 Type:Second Vice-President
Chamber1 Leader3:Marcos Perestrello, PS
Chamber1 Leader4 Type:Third Vice-President
Chamber1 Leader4:Diogo Pacheco de Amorim, CH
Chamber1 Leader5 Type:Fourth Vice-President
Chamber1 Leader5:Rodrigo Saraiva, IL
Chamber1 Leader6 Type:First Secretary
Chamber1 Leader6:Jorge Paulo Oliveira, PPD/PSD
Chamber2 Leader1 Type:Second Secretary
Chamber2 Leader1:Joana Ferreira Lima, PS
Chamber2 Leader2 Type:Third Secretary
Chamber2 Leader2:Gabriel Mithá Ribeiro, CH
Chamber2 Leader3 Type:Fourth Secretary
Chamber2 Leader3:Germana Rocha, PPD/PSD
Country:Portugal

The 16th Legislature of the Third Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: XVI Legislatura da Terceira República Portuguesa) is the current meeting of the Assembly of the Republic. Its membership was determined by the results of the 2024 Portuguese legislative election held on 10 March.

Election

The 17th Portuguese legislative election was held on 10 March 2024. The Democratic Alliance (AD) won, narrowly, the most votes and seats.[1] [2]

PartyAssembly of the Republic
Votes%Seats+/−
AD1,867,442 28.84 80 +3
PS1,812,443 27.98 78 –42
Chega1,169,781 18.06 50 +38
IL319,877 4.94 8 ±0
BE282,314 4.36 5 ±0
CDU205,551 3.17 4 –2
Livre204,875 3.16 4 +3
PAN126,125 1.95 1 ±0
Others/blanks/invalids488,544 7.54 0 ±0
Total6,476,952 100.00 230 ±0

Composition (2024–present)

List of members

See main article: List of members of the 16th Assembly of the Republic (Portugal).

Current composition

PartyParliamentary group leaderElected
Seats%
Hugo Soares (Braga)7833.9
Alexandra Leitão (Santarém)7833.9
ChegaPedro Pinto (Faro)5021.7
ILMariana Leitão (Lisbon)83.5
Fabian Figueiredo (Lisbon)52.2
Paula Santos (Setúbal)41.7
Isabel Mendes Lopes (Lisbon)41.7
Paulo Núncio (Lisbon)20.9
Inês Sousa Real (Lisbon)10.4
 Total230100.0

Election for President of the Assembly of the Republic

The election to pick a new President of the Assembly of the Republic was complicated. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) proposed José Pedro Aguiar-Branco as their candidate for President. To be elected, a candidate needs to reach a minimum of 116 votes. The first ballot occurred on 26 March 2024 and before the vote, there was the announcement that the Social Democratic Party reached an understanding with Chega regarding names.[3] Chega leader André Ventura announced the "deal" to the media, but several Democratic Alliance members downplayed the announcement and said no deal was made, just an understanding.[4] Despite this, the overwhelming point of view was that Aguiar-Branco would easily be elected, but on the first ballot, Chega members voted in blank and Aguiar-Branco failed to be elected:[5]

Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
1st Ballot →26 March 2024
Required majority →116 out of 230
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (PPD/PSD)
Blank ballots
Invalid ballots
Absentees
Sources:

Following the first ballot, the PSD accused the Socialist Party (PS) and Chega of a "negative coalition" and announced the withdraw of Aguiar-Branco.[6] The PS then announced they would present Francisco Assis as candidate, while Chega would present Manuela Tender. Shortly after, Aguiar-Branco retracted his earlier withdraw and was back on the ballot.[7] On the two following ballots, the gridlock remained:

Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
2nd Ballot →26 March 2024
Required majority →116 out of 230
Francisco Assis (PS)
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (PPD/PSD)
Manuela Tender (Chega)
Blank ballots
Invalid ballots
Absentees
Sources: [8]
Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
3rd Ballot →26 March 2024
Required majority →116 out of 230
Francisco Assis (PS)
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (PPD/PSD)
Blank ballots
Invalid ballots
Absentees
Sources: [9]

A fourth ballot was then scheduled for the following day, 27 March, to be held at noon, but late negotiations between PS and PSD delayed the vote for several hours.[10] Following these negotiations, it was announced that both parties reached a deal in which the Presidency of the Assembly would rotate between the two parties, with the PSD holding the first two years, until 2026, and the PS the rest of the legislature until 2028.[11] The PSD presented again Aguiar-Branco, while Chega presented Rui Paulo Sousa. Aguiar-Branco was easily elected:

Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic
4th Ballot →27 March 2024
Required majority →116 out of 230
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (PPD/PSD)
Rui Paulo Sousa (Chega)
Blank ballots
Invalid ballots
Absentees
Sources: [12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 11 March 2024 . AD ganha, mas com berbicacho, PS e esquerda ficam na "oposição" . 12 March 2024 . Expresso . pt . 11 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240311111700/https://expresso.pt/politica/eleicoes/legislativas-2024/resultados/2024-03-11-AD-ganha-mas-com-berbicacho-PS-e-esquerda-ficam-na-oposicao-bcba5700 . live .
  2. Web site: Comissão Nacional de Eleições Mapa Oficial n.º 2-A/2024 . Comissão Nacional de Eleições . 23 March 2024 . 23 March 2024.
  3. Web site: 25 March 2024 . Ventura anuncia que PSD viabilizará nomes do Chega para Mesa da AR e indica idêntico apoio a Aguiar-Branco . 12 March 2024 . CNN Portugal . pt.
  4. Web site: 27 March 2024 . Ventura vs. Melo: O que foi dito sobre o "acordo" que instalou impasse no Parlamento? . 12 March 2024 . Sábado . pt.
  5. Web site: 26 March 2024 . Aguiar-Branco falha eleição para presidente da Assembleia da República. PSD retira candidatura . 27 March 2024 . ECO . pt.
  6. Web site: 26 March 2024 . "Primeira coligação negativa." AD retira candidatura de Aguiar-Branco e desafia PS e Chega a entenderem-se . 27 March 2024 . TSF . pt.
  7. Web site: 26 March 2024 . Aguiar-Branco volta a candidatar-se a presidente da AR. PS responde com Francisco Assis . 27 March 2024 . ECO . pt.
  8. Web site: 26 March 2024 . Segunda votação na AR sem maioria. Assis e Aguiar-Branco vão a votos em nova ronda. 27 March 2024 . Renascença . pt.
  9. Web site: 26 March 2024 . Terceira ronda sem maioria entre Aguiar-Branco e Assis. Parlamento tem nova votação ao meio-dia. 27 March 2024 . Renascença . pt.
  10. Web site: 27 March 2024 . Luís Montenegro e Pedro Nuno Santos reunidos no Parlamento. 27 March 2024 . RTP . pt.
  11. Web site: 27 March 2024 . PSD e PS vão dividir presidência da Assembleia da República. 27 March 2024 . Visão . pt.
  12. Web site: 26 March 2024 . À quarta foi de vez. Aguiar-Branco foi eleito presidente da Assembleia da República. 27 March 2024 . ECO . pt.