Portugal’s PSD wins without an absolute majority in Madeira’s early elections

The conservatives, who have governed the archipelago for nearly 50 years, obtain their worst result

The Left Bloc and the communists are left out of the regional Parliament

May 27. () –

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) of Portugal has won this Sunday the early legislative elections of the autonomous region of Madeira, where they have governed for nearly 50 years, but obtaining their worst result due to suspicions of corruption and a second electoral call in less of one year.

The conservatives have won 19 seats (an absolute majority requires 24 out of a total of 47) by receiving 36.1 percent of the votes and the Socialist Party has won eleven with 21.3 percent. Behind them is Juntos Pelo Povo, which has obtained eleven seats with 16.9 percent and the far-right Chega four seats with 9.2 percent.

Also in the Assembly are the Christian Democrats of the CDS-PP, with two deputies, and the Popular Initiative and the animal activists of the PAN, with one deputy each. The Left Bloc and the Communist Party have been left out, according to the results published by the General Secretariat of the Ministry of the Interior, which point to more than a 46 percent abstention rate.

The current acting regional president and leader of the conservative PSD in the archipelago, Miguel Albuquerque, has claimed his victory and has declared himself available to govern with all parties, although he has not mentioned any specific political force, nor if he intends to govern as a minority or negotiate an agreement. “We’ll see,” he declared.

Furthermore, he has stated that the left has been “copiously defeated by the people of Madeira”, highlighting that in addition to having defeated the Socialist Party, “the Left Bloc and the Communist Party are no longer part of the regional Parliament”, according to statements collected by the Lusa news agency.

In the previous regional elections, the PSD and the CDS-PP ran together and obtained 23 deputies, for which they signed an agreement with the only deputy from the PAN. Following suspicions of corruption, this political party withdrew its support from the Government.

The leader of the PS in Madeira, Paulo Cafofo, has shown himself willing to dialogue to build an alternative in the region, while the liberals have refused to reach an agreement with the main forces and the PAN has shown itself to be a “constructive force” in the new parliamentary framework.

PSD Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has stated that voters “have left no doubt” that they want Albuquerque to govern, although Chega president André Ventura has admitted an understanding with the conservatives on the condition that the president in office he cannot continue leading.

At the end of March, the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, dissolved the Parliament of Madeira, due to an investigation into a corruption case that brought down the regional government. Albuquerque resigned after being declared a “formal suspect” for alleged irregular contracts, but did not dissolve the House because elections were held in September and elections cannot be called in the first six months of the mandate.

These elections have taken place just months after the also early general elections following the resignation of the Prime Minister, António Costa, due to a corruption investigation in which prosecutors recognized a “confusion”, which gave victory to Luís Montenegro, also from the PSD.

Added to this situation of political instability are the recent early elections in the Azores, held in February and in which the conservatives won the elections, after the regional Executive failed to push forward the 2024 budget.