The admissibility report authored by Socialist Party (PS) MP Isabel Moreira was approved with votes in favour from the left-wing Livre Party and the PS, abstentions from the Social Democrats (PSD) and the Liberals (IL), and opposition from Chega.
The petition in question, which has 54 signatories and was authored by Ana Luís Pinho, calls for Chega to be outlawed, arguing that the party does not comply with the Constitution, in particular the article that states that “racist associations or organisations or those that espouse fascist ideology are not permitted”. The petitioners say they want to “put an end to a party with an unconstitutional fascist ideology and propaganda”.
As this is a petition with fewer than 2,500 signatories, a debate on the initiative in committee or in a parliament session is not mandatory. However, as indicated by the technical services of parliament in the admissibility note, the petition will be included in the proceedings of another petition with a similar objective, which had 12,209 signatures, which was admitted for debate on 28 January and will be debated in plenary.
Before the vote, rapporteur Isabel Moreira stressed that the power to declare a party unconstitutional lies with the Constitutional Court and not with parliament, but the initiative is admissible because of the possibility that the benches may act and request the unconstitutionality of Chega after the debate in plenary – a possibility she considered “inappropriate”.
The socialist cited another report she authored on a similar initiative discussed in 2020 to reinforce that the Constitution “does not impose a model of virtuous tolerance” because if it did, it would “deny the fundamental core of freedom of expression and would have to consent to censorship.”
It is part of the democratic rule of law and, therefore, of a democratic Constitution, to take the risk of welcoming the intolerant,” she stressed.
Chega MP Vanessa Barata accused the PS MP of seeking to “link Chega to phenomena such as hate speech, authoritarian rhetoric, racist or xenophobic behaviour”, arguing that “this is a political value judgement that should not have a place in a report that is intended to be rigorous and impartial”.
Vanessa Barata also stressed that parliament cannot replace the Constitutional Court and that “the persecution of Chega subverts democracy, attacks democratic plurality, freedom and the principle of separation of powers”.
Paulo Marcelo, of the PSD, raised doubts about the fact that the petition had been admitted by parliament, since it asks the Constitutional Affairs Committee to analyse the legality of Chega, which is the exclusive competence of the Constitutional Court.
We do not believe that a petition with 54 petitioners deserves more attention than this,” he added, noting that the Social Democrats would not obstruct the process, since the technical services had accepted the initiative and a “technically correct report” had been produced following that decision.
On 28 January, the Constitutional Affairs Committee partially admitted for debate a petition from the “Movement against Narrative” calling for Chega to be outlawed, arguing that this party disrespects essential values and principles of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.
The report on the admissibility of the petition, authored by Socialist MP Isabel Moreira, was voted against by Chega, abstained by the CDS, and approved by the PSD, PS, and Liberal Initiative.
