José Apolinário and António Ceia da Silva are the candidates chosen by the PS for the presidency of the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDR) of the Algarve and Alentejo, respectively. And if, in the Algarve region, there are no obstacles to the election of the current Secretary of State for Fisheries, in Alentejo the name of the acting president of the Regional Tourism Entity of Alentejo and Ribatejo is contested, even within the PS.
According to the newspaper Público today, José Apolinário will be the socialist candidate in the first indirect elections for the presidency of the Algarve CCDR, that will take place in October. Bearing in mind that the electoral college is made up of mayors from the region, mostly from the PS, the election should only be pro-forma.
José Apolinário, who was deputy and president of the Chamber of Faro, has been, since April 8, regional coordinator of the fight against Covid-19 in the Algarve, first in the state of Emergency, then in Calamidade and now in Alerta. A role that, in addition to his previous and current experience as Secretary of State for Fisheries, has given him in-depth knowledge of the Algarve situation.
The same newspaper says that, it seems, there will be an agreement between the two biggest parties, the PS and the PSD, which determines that the CCDRs of the Algarve, Alentejo and Lisbon and Vale do Tejo will be in the hands of the socialists and those of the Center and North will fall for the PSD.
After all, it is these two parties that have the largest number of elected representatives, at national level, in local power.
However, at the regional level, the choices are not all consensual. This is the case in Alentejo, where the name of António Ceia da Silva, current president of Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo, who was nominated by António Costa, does not deserve consensus between PS and PSD, as revealed on Saturday by the newspaper Expresso.
In this region, it is also important to count on the still strong presence of mayors from the CDU, who, wrote the Expresso, may be willing to join the mayors of the PSD and some elected representatives of the PS to support an independent candidacy of Roberto Grilo, currently president of the CCDR of Alentejo.
This support from members of the electoral college is mandatory, so that there can be an independent candidacy for the presidency of the CCDR.
The rules that were defined for these indirect elections determine that candidates for the presidency and vice president (the other vice president is chosen by the Government, to ensure parity) must be nominated by a party with representation in the region or, in the in the case of independents, submit a candidacy process signed by 15% of the electoral college composed of elected mayors.
The ordinance that frames these elections, which take place for the first time in history - before, it was the Government that chose the president of the CCDR, the entity that represents the Central State and is responsible for the management of European Union Funds in the different regions - determines that the electoral college is composed of the presidents of the Chambers, Municipal Assemblies and Parish Councils.
In the Algarve, of the 16 municipalities, ten have socialist mayors and even more are PS Municipal Assemblies presidents (13). At the level of the boards, the Socialist Party has almost two-thirds of those elected, 45 out of 67.
Help us to do the Sul Informação!
Contribute your donation so that we can continue to make your journal!
Click here to support us (Paypal)
Or use our IBAN PT50 0018 0003 38929600020 44
Comments