The PAN Congress this Saturday approved the creation of a party youth, advisory councils, an emigration core and the extension of the bodies’ mandates to three years, among other changes to the party’s bylaws.
Delegates of the IX Congress of the PAN, meeting in Matosinhos, Porto district, approved the proposal to amend the statutes of the A-list, spearheaded by the party’s current leader and sole deputy, Inês Sousa Real, which intends to “open the PAN to society”, and also promotes internal stability.
The document – voted in alternation with the C-list proposal, signed by the opponent of the current spokeswoman for the leadership of the Nelson Silva party – envisions granting more autonomy to the structures of the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, as well as “ensuring the growth of internal structures” and opening the National Political Commission to representatives of the districts.
List A’s proposal received 96 votes, while list C’s proposal received 32 votes and was rejected.
The Congress, marked by the exchange of accusations between the lists and by altercations between supporters of Nelson Silva and the Bureau, also passed with 112 votes to 18 abstentions and no vote against the proposed amendments to the party’s bylaws by the B-list, which focus on creating a partisan youth.
“We young people are the future of any society. We will be the ones who will inherit the world we live in […]. Our causes are the causes of all generations and our participation is essential for the development of democracy,” defended B-list subscriber Beatriz Salafranca, speaking at the congress.
According to this PAN-affiliated party, the party’s youth doesn’t want to be just a quota, it wants to “be action, have a voice and be heard”, assuming itself as an “independent, regulated structure with its own budget”.
As for the advisory councils proposed by the A-list, they seek “greater openness of the party to society” and the “recognition of people who actively contribute to the advancement of PAN’s causes”.
These organs will be open to non-militant personalities.
With the creation of the Nucleus for Emigration and Portuguese Communities outside Portugal, the intention is that the members of the PAN will unite: “It is high time to recognize the importance that these [os filiados no estrangeiro] in the party,” explained Isabel do Carmo when presenting the A-list proposals.
Party positions are now held for three years – currently the duration is two years – with the aim of “giving time to structure and consolidate the work” and promoting internal stability, and the Electoral Congress will be held every three years, with a second congress in between.
Party structures in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira are now endowed with “political, organizational and financial autonomy” and are governed by their own statutes approved by the National Congress. The National Political Commission will appoint a representative to integrate each of the Regional Political Commissions.
Early last year, the Constitutional Court rejected the changes to the PAN statutes approved at the previous party congress, which took place in June 2021, in Tomar, a situation that Inês Sousa Real’s opposition wing fears will be repeated.
The PAN meets today before the IX Congress to elect a new leadership, with current spokesperson and former deputy Nelson Silva running as candidates.
Source: DN
