The leader of Chega, André Ventura, accused the PS this Monday of blocking elections for the external bodies of the Assembly of the Republic and of refusing to allow his party to nominate a candidate for the Constitutional Court.
Ventura accuses PS of blocking elections for external bodies of the Assembly of the Republic
Context & Explainers

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.
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Other news coverage of this topic
- Ventura blames Carneiro for an “embarrassing deadlock” in the Assembly of the Republic10:41pm, 16 Mar 2026 • Diário de Notícias
- Ventura laments "embarrassing" deadlock over external bodies and accuses PS of ignoring that two-thirds of the electorate voted for the right7:39pm, 16 Mar 2026 • Expresso
- Ventura accuses PS of blocking elections for external bodies8:31pm, 16 Mar 2026 • Observador
- Ventura accuses Santos Pereira of granting a 'multimillion-euro pension' to Mário Centeno 'to avoid being overshadowed'7:28pm, 16 Mar 2026 • Diário de Notícias
- Without an 'adequate solution' for the Constitutional Court, Chega accuses PS of blocking the selection of external bodies7:03pm, 16 Mar 2026 • ECO



