The Chega National Jurisdiction Council has expelled member Ivo Ferreira Faria. According to the party, he is barred from re-enrolling for seven years. As reported by Público, the member was arrested in flagrante delicto on suspicion of child pornography, aggravated child sexual abuse, and invasion of privacy, with his daughter and partner as victims. A statement from the Judiciary Police confirmed the arrest of a 27-year-old man, noting that seized computer equipment contained hundreds of files depicting young children in explicit sexual acts. Preliminary analysis indicates the suspect shared these files on digital platforms. The police also found strong evidence that the suspect sexually abused his young daughter and shared intimate recordings of his partner without consent. Correio da Manhã reported that the man was a Chega candidate for a parish in the Braga district, identified by Público as Ivo Ferreira Faria, a candidate for the Union of Parishes of Antime and Silvares S. Clemente. The suspect is currently in pre-trial detention.
Chega candidate expelled from party following arrest on suspicion of sexually abusing his daughter
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.
