José Sena Goulão / Lusa
The President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco
President of the Assembly of the Republic recalls that there are matters that only the Government and deputies can decide.
Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco has been silent about the campaign presidential elections, as is customary due to his position – but he decided to write publicly about the matter.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic recalls that there are matters that only the Government and deputies can decide. In other words, remember that there is separation of powers.
“I cannot ignore the way in which, in the public space, matters that belong directly and exclusively to the competence of Parliament are addressed”, writes Aguiar-Branco in the Ideias section, from .
The President of the Assembly of the Republic does not like to see so many conversations about a possible constitutional review, which became a central issue of the campaign: “In Portugal, any constitutional review is the responsibility of the Assembly of the Republic. This was the case on the seven occasions on which our fundamental law was revised.”
“It has become common to move the constitutional debate outside its proper space. Constitutional revision is discussed in media and informal spaces, while questioning or devaluing the parliamentary debate. Everything is talked about everywhere, except in the place that the Constitution determines, the House of Democracy”.
Aguiar-Branco warns that, by removing “structuring themes from their institutional framework, unrealistic expectations are created among citizens, competences are confused between sovereign bodies and democratic accountability is weakened”.
The deputy also does not like the insinuations and requests for transparency which have been repeated: “It is impressive how quickly the debate has slipped into a logic of generalized suspicion of politicians. Scrutiny is indispensable. Permanent distrust is not.”
“Insinuations are made about the personal and professional background of opponents. Disclosure exercises are required that go far beyond the normal duties of transparency and accountability” – names are never written, but here the focus will be on Luís Marques Mendes’ past.
But Aguiar-Branco, again without writing names, also puts Marques Mendes as target: the candidate suggested a Ethics Committeewith a “senatorial composition” (former presidents of Parliament or former ombudsmen), which would decide “in situations of serious violations of political ethics”, especially with regard to deputies.
Aguiar-Branco points out: “It was even proposed that this exercise be extended to Parliament, with the creation of a council, in addition to the Parliamentary Commission for Transparency and Statute of Deputies, composed of ‘wise men’, non-elected people, with powers to evaluate the behavior of deputies and apply sanctions”.
“I recognize that the proposal may seem appealing at first glance. As president of the Assembly of the Republic, I consider it unacceptable. Not only because of the context, but above all because of the principle at stake”, he warns.
And he justifies his analysis: “We cannot have, within Parliament, an unelected body that applies sanctions to the people’s elected representatives. It would be an inversion of democratic logic. And it would be, at the limit, a disrespect for voters”.
This opinion article, with the title ‘Knowing how to change, knowing how to maintain’, turns out to be a “ear pulling” to presidential candidates, as summarized by .
