The complaints are old, but repeat year after year. “The Illegal Transport of Voters” [que não o solicitaram ou são autónomos] by regional government vehicles, “calls to vote” at polling stations, “ballot papers with a different weight than the official ballot papers” [a suspeita do crime “de introdução fraudulenta” de boletim da urna ou desvio da urna ou de boletim de voto], among other situations. And all of them, the most recent (from 2021), were reported to the National Electoral Commission (CNE) with names, car registrations, photos, times and voting locations. In some cases, ‘illegal’ transport by Regional Health Agency (SESARAM) vehicles continued despite notification from the CNE. In other cases, ‘voters’ were kept further away from polling stations after complaints and warnings from the CNE.
The fear of Sunday the 24th continues, but not everyone is willing to come forward and share what they have already seen and fear it will happen again. Almost everyone requests identity confidentiality. Júlio Curado, who has been to several polling stations, admits what he saw: the “strange things” of “the man who takes his wife by the arm, because since he is the one who earns the money, he is the one who takes control talks about the female vote, people who never take their ID and vote with them, and even one case where I suspected a lady was already voting for the third time. I had already seen her and her name, I checked, was already marked as having voted.”
In addition to the most common – “transportation and calls to vote” – “there are people who are taken to the polls and stay with them while they vote and even people who have their vote photographed because they get some kind of benefit in exchange for that photo” , assures.
The opposition reports, which are not limited to the PS, follow the same trend: the “fear that history will repeat itself again”.
And then doubt arises: “What happened to the almost 30% undecided in the polls, which suddenly dropped to less than 10%? Have they evaporated?” asks an opposition leader.
Speaking to DN on Wednesday morning, Miguel Albuquerque admitted that there was “some fear because [as sondagens] could lead to the demobilization of our electorate,” he then rehearsed a new version of the threat to resign from the regional government and the leadership of the PSD-M if he does not have an absolute majority.
On September 6, he assured on Rádio Renascença that “if you do not vote for this majority, I will leave (…) and if I do not win the elections, I will not be able to continue to lead the elections.” party, of course.” On Wednesday afternoon, speaking to the Observador, he opened the door to the PSD-M that he had closed for himself, admitting that his party could rule the region with another leader who accepts the post-electoral coalitions he says he refuses.
And here another door opened: “Another leader.” On Wednesday, Miguel Albuquerque told DN: “If you say you’re going to leave, you’re going to have internal problems.” Assuming that he will now clearly not run for office again, he opened the way for Pedro Calado, the current mayor of Funchal who was once vice-president of the regional government, and who pleases Alberto João Jardim, who criticizes the policy of ‘ welfare’. which “perpetuates poverty”.
“A mistake,” he told DN in January, when asked about the PSD-M and its current policies: “It gives handouts, everything remains the same. The policies must be investments, job creation and fair wages. That has always been that way.” it’s my recipe.”
And what role is assigned to the CDS in another leader? If there is already the idea of, for example, giving up the presidency of the Regional Legislative Assembly of Madeira (ALRAM) and/or of having two secretariats, as they currently exist, despite an absolute majority, what will happen? if there is no majority? A local source admits that the party will “pay the price” for “turning the corner” when it allied with the PSD after “decades and decades” of criticism of “this whole policy”.
The PS, which has never had an investigation that brought it closer to the PSD, believes, despite the uncertainty created, that the published figures “do not reflect what we feel on the streets”. And this idea is repeated again and again.
Many doubt the “published percentages” because they have already been “lucky” to have been asked and “understood”. And that’s all they can say. The expectation for Sunday is “great” because “anything can happen”. Explanation? “There are too many undecided people and this time it is not a polarized election between PS and PSD. There are thirteen parties and many with new national leaders. The spread makes these elections uncertain, despite the polls,” says a leader.
‘The drop from more than 51 thousand votes to approximately eight thousand announced votes [o que seria inferior a todas as eleições, por exemplo, desde 2007]as has emerged on average from recent polls, is not a scenario that seems realistic to us,” says another socialist. And here we recall the sentence of Miguel Albuquerque against DN: “In the Azores they gave an absolute majority to Vasco Cordeiro [candidato do PS] and on election night, things were different.”
The expectations for the other parties are similar, but for different reasons. It’s just that the ‘margins of error’ [nas sondagens] “You can choose three or four, or choose none.” And everyone says the same thing, that on the street they have the feeling that “everything is different”.
Absent vs. gifts
Montenegro, Nuno Melo, Rui Rocha, Mariana Mortágua and Paulo Raimundo will “vote” for
1st time. These are the first Regionals for Rui Tavares and Inês Sousa Real. Ventura and Costa are repeaters.
Antonio Costa. He came to a meeting on the 8th, and that was it. But no one seems to miss his interventions. It was bad that he said that “Madeira does not like the PS”.
Luis Montenegro. He will participate in the election campaign for only a few hours. There will be lunch and a street party. And then go to Rio Maior. Return on Sunday. Go to “votes” for the first time.
Nuno Melo. He did not participate in the campaign for a single day. He says he trusts the autonomy of the regional CDS and a victory. It is the first test for centrists before the Europeans.
Rui Rocha. He turned the Liberal dance of Madeira into a kind of national anthem. He came with his staff. And it was clear that agreements with PSD or PS are “only measure by measure”.
Rui Tavares. The party’s electoral presence is reduced. It is a debut without ambitions. Even the presence of the leader did not make it possible to create an impact on the population.
Ines de Sousa Real. He campaigned. And you know the difficulties of choosing. Even more so after the change in regional leadership that opened wounds in the party.
Paulo Raimundo. Came to a dinner rally in the evening. He left in the morning for “schedule” and “just because” reasons. If you lose, you ‘fight’. If you win, you are ‘happy’.
Joana Mortagua. First there was Catarina Martins, then came the current leader who is betting on a return to the regional parliament. Election is a victory. By losing, everything stays the same.
Andre Ventura. He attacked and wants to dethrone Albuquerque and “corruption”. He held meetings and dinner meetings. And there is already talk of a two-party government with another PSD leader.
Source: DN
