The president of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, announced on Wednesday, October 2, that he had called an extraordinary leaders' conference for Thursday at 3:30 PM to decide the date on which Chega's motion of censure against the Government will be debated and voted on. The meeting will be held remotely, as Aguiar-Branco will be in the Azores.
The motion of censure was submitted during a period of parliamentary recess, which raises questions about the counting of the procedural deadline. According to the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic, the debate on a motion of censure begins on the third parliamentary day following its submission, but the full resumption of work in ordinary session only occurs on September 15.
Aguiar-Branco stated that he will not comment on the merit or appropriateness of the motion, considering it a normal use of a procedural and constitutional mechanism. The president of parliament highlighted that the decision to be made by the leaders' conference refers exclusively to setting the date from which the three days for discussion will be counted.
Chega submitted a motion of censure titled "For the end of a Government without political authority, incapable of assuming responsibilities and guaranteeing trust in institutions," with the aim of censuring the prime minister and the Government for maintaining Luís Neves as minister of Internal Administration. If it is rejected, the signatories cannot submit another during the same legislative session, which ends on September 14.
