In an attempt to prevent the PS from having a pretext to launch the initiative, the Liberal deputies yesterday presented a project to revise the electoral law of the Assembly of the Republic, which allows the creation of single-member circles ( circles of a single deputy).
Now the Liberal Initiative (IL) is putting all its efforts into creating a national compensation circle with 40 deputies – that is, a circle where all votes that do not elect deputies are collected in the district circles. IL also responds to statements made in the plenary in April 2022 by Socialist MP Pedro Delgado Alves.
On that day, the head of the IL bank, Rodrigo Saraiva, made an intervention challenging the PS to participate in an electoral reform. At the time, Saraiva argued for the defense of single-member circles, but now also for the creation of the national compensation circle.
Pedro Delgado Alves responded that “the PS faction has shown that it has the ability to change the electoral system in important aspects” such as “early voting in the field of mobility […]automatic registration abroad, the dematerialization of procedures, the end of the voter card.” And he even added “What the IL is suggesting is nothing more than what the PS has been proposing since 1998: a German-type model, which combines single-member candidacy circles with a compensation circle or with circles guaranteeing proportionality.”. And if no progress has been made, it is not because the PS does not want it: “Those who have systematically said that they do not give the necessary votes for these two-thirds, because they always demand a reduction in the number of deputies – which the would damage proportionality, reduce the pluralism of this Parliament and make domestic representation difficult – that is what the PSD has done.
That’s why Delgado Alves said then: “I do not know whether we will be able to gather the necessary two-thirds majority, but from our side there is room for electoral reform on these issues.”Because this “availability” is “above all” of “great and principal urgency”, namely to guarantee an amendment to the electoral law so that what happened in last January’s elections with regard to citizens living abroad will not happen again”.
Hearing yesterday by DN, Delgado Alves said that, given the project presented by IL, the PS “still has no position”. However, there are people who believe that the party should play along. This is the case of the president of the PS, Carlos César. A few weeks ago, César said at the Socialist Academy that the party must “seek consensus” and “invest in the quality of representation, in participation mechanisms, streamline decision-making processes, make governance closer and friendlier to every people.” “.
Source: DN
