The coalition between PSD, CDS and PPM, which currently leads the region and which is headed by the social democrat José Manuel Bolieiro – will have won this Sunday’s elections in the Azores, with 40% to 45% of the votes, with a margin for an absolute majority, according to exit projections carried out by the Catholic University for RTP.
In second place, according to the same projections, was the PS, with 32% to 37% of the votes, and Chega occupied third place, with 8% to 11%, registering growth compared to the last elections. But, as Luís Marques Mendes highlighted in his usual comment space on SIC, “Chega could have a very bitter victory here, which means rising in votes, rising in deputies, but what it meant to have influence, in the sense of going to the government or negotiate a government, this strategy apparently may have failed.”
Liberal Initiative, Left Bloc, PAN and CDU will have had between 1% and 3% of the votes.
At the closing time of this edition, with more than 70% of the votes counted, the PSD, CDS, PPM coalition had collected 42.3% of the votes, the PS 37.6%, Chega 8.5%, the CDU 2%. BE, IL and PAN had values between 1.9% and 1.3%.
Everything indicates that Bolieiro will be re-elected president of the Government of the Azores, following these early elections for the new regional parliament after the rejection of the budget for this year.
At the beginning of election night, PS-Açores insisted that “everything was open” for the final result.
Never before, in its democratic history, had the region had early elections. The favoritism belonged to the two large national parties, the only ones to govern in the history of the region: on the one hand, the social democrat and current president, José Manuel Bolieiro, and, on the other, the socialist and former president Vasco Cordeiro.
Eleven political forces competed in the elections – eight parties and three coalitions: AD-Açores (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), CDU (PCP/PEV), Alternative 21 (MPT/Aliança), PS, Chega, BE, PAN, Livre , ADN, Liberal Initiative and Juntos Pelo Povo.
In the last elections, the winner was Bolieiro – but he ended up falling after losing the parliamentary support of one of the two Chega deputies and the Liberal Initiative deputy who allowed the Executive to have a majority in the regional parliament. Without this majority, it was not possible to make the regional budget for 2024 viable, which was failed on November 23rd.
After the budget failed, the President of the Republic decided to dissolve the regional Legislative Assembly of the Azores, with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa scheduling the elections for February 4th.