The leader of Chega revealed this Thursday, March 26, that an agreement has been reached with the PSD regarding elections for external bodies, announcing that the two parties will present a joint list of candidates for the Council of State. In a statement at the Assembly of the Republic, André Ventura explained that Chega will nominate one person for the Council of State, though he did not disclose whether he would remain in this advisory body to the President of the Republic himself. Ventura stated he has no indication yet as to whether the Socialist Party will join this joint list. Seguro has called the first Council of State meeting for April 17 to discuss Security and Defence. According to the d'Hondt method, there would be three members nominated by the PSD, one by Chega, and one by the PS, he admitted. 'In the broadest scenario, Chega will have two members, and the Socialist Party will never have two members on the Council of State,' he added. André Ventura reaffirmed that the PSD and Chega have reached an agreement regarding the names for the Constitutional Court. As he mentioned on Tuesday, this agreement provides for the PSD to nominate two names for the Constitutional Court and Chega one. Chega will nominate appellate judge Luís Brites Lameiras. 'The primary interlocutor for this negotiation was the PSD parliamentary leader,' but Ventura also spoke with the Prime Minister and PSD leader, Luís Montenegro. 'It is evident that there would be no agreement if the two leaders were not in agreement,' he noted. This Thursday morning, the PSD parliamentary leader stated that the party will continue 'in the privacy of negotiations' for external bodies and neither confirmed nor denied an agreement with Chega for the selection of judges for the Constitutional Court. The PSD has requested a new extension of the deadline for submitting lists for the Council of State, the Ombudsman, and the Constitutional Court.
Ventura announces joint list with the PSD for the Council of State
Context & Explainers
The Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) is Portugal's highest court for constitutional review. Its primary role is to assess whether laws, decrees, and government actions comply with the Portuguese Constitution, and it has the power to strike down or suspend unconstitutional measures.
The court consists of 13 judges — 10 appointed by the Assembly of the Republic and 3 co-opted by the other judges. It also oversees the legality of political parties and their finances, verifies election results, and rules on the constitutionality of referendums.
The Constitutional Court is frequently in the news when opposition parties, the President, or the Ombudsman refer controversial legislation for review — such as labor reforms, housing laws, or immigration policy changes. Its rulings are final and binding.
The Social Democratic Party ('Partido Social Democrata' or 'PSD') is a liberal-conservative political party in Portugal that is the leading partner of the The Democratic Alliance (AD) which is the country's ruling party, with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
The Social Democratic Party, despite its name, occupies the centre-right of Portugal's political spectrum. Luís Montenegro, who became Prime Minister in April 2024, leads Portugal's current minority government. The PSD has been one of Portugal's two dominant parties since 1974, having formed nine governments including four with absolute majorities. Montenegro, a former party leader from 1996-1999, was elected with the highest approval rating among party leaders at 10.7 points out of 20.
The Democratic Alliance is a centre-right coalition that includes the smaller CDS – People's Party, a Christian democratic party that has historically been the PSD's coalition partner. Together, they govern without a parliamentary majority, requiring case-by-case support from opposition parties to pass legislation.
Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.
The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.
