JOSE SENA GOULAO/LUSA
Candidate Henrique Gouveia e Melo speaks to his supporters at his campaign committee in Lisbon
The “supra-partisan” candidate leaves the door open to a political career, after the “hidden vote” did not take place — he came in fourth place, far from the winner António José Seguro. Gouveia e Melo has two plans.
He was supposed to be the next President of the Republic, but months passed and presidential candidate Henrique Gouveia e Melo was ‘sinking’ in the polls. This Sunday, the retired admiral finished in fourth place in the race to Belém, with 12.32% and almost 20% behind the winner of the first round, António José Seguro (31.11%).
In addition to not being, according to himself, an “uncle from Cascais”, Gouveia e Melo also always said he was the non-partisan candidate, and not a politician. However, in reaction to this Sunday’s defeat, he did not close the doors to a future in politics.
The candidate welcomed the drop in abstention in the 2021 elections and added that has two plans in mind: either continue in politics or dedicate himself to his private life.
“I will do whatever the Portuguese want. I have two plans: One, to continue, naturally; and the other, which is to dedicate myself to my private life”, he declared.
Gouveia e Melo assumed that the results of the first round of elections did not correspond to the objectives he set, but warned that the country will continue to count on its “civic participation”.
“The results fell short of the goals I set. I accept the results with serenity and with absolute respect for the will of the Portuguese”, he declared. Later, the former Chief of Staff of the Navy argued that, despite the result, the movement around his candidacy “constituted a breath of fresh air”.
“After 45 years of serving Portugal, I can clearly say that the country will continue to count on me, on my civic participation, and on my commitment to defending the values that have always guided me”, he highlighted. In his opening statement, Gouveia e Melo said that his candidacy constituted “an experience” that honored him.
“I was honored by the trust received, by the way I was welcomed throughout the country and by the opportunity to actively participate in such a relevant moment in our democracy. It is with great satisfaction that I conclude that this movement has achieved something that I consider essential for the collective future”, he maintained.
He specified that, from his perspective, his candidacy “managed to bring together very different people, from different spectrums. [políticos] distinct, with different life stories, ideas and sensibilities”.
“We demonstrate that it is possible to unite differences when there is a greater cause that transcends us all – and that greater cause is our country. Portugal can and should be a space for convergence, even when there is a diversity of opinions”, he added, receiving a prolonged round of applause.
In his initial intervention, Gouveia e Melo once again defended the thesis that it is necessary to “de-partisanise the Presidency of the Republic and return this position to its truly non-partisan nature”.
“The country benefits when the President of the Republic is seen as a guarantor of balance, stability and proximity to all Portuguese people, without exception. That is what I proposed with this challenge, due to the importance of bringing a breath of fresh air to public life, of showing that it is possible to serve the country with independence, a sense of mission and a spirit of commitment, without partisan ties”, he added.
Remember that, during the last week of the campaign, with most polls placing him outside the second round of elections, the admiral and members of his campaign leadership believed that there could be a “hidden vote” that would provide him with a “silent majority”.
A “hidden vote”, according to Gouveia e Melo’s campaign management, by people with party loyalty and who did not confess that they were going to vote for the admiral. But that didn’t happen.
Gouveia e Melo had his elections this Sunday worst results in the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores, and obtained the highest percentages in Coimbra and Setúbal.
Apart from the cases of Madeira and the Azores, where the former Chief of Staff of the Navy had 8.1% and 10.37% of the votes, respectively, the results achieved by his candidacy did not register relevant fluctuations on the mainland, standing between 13.69% and 13.41% in Coimbra and 10.75% in Braga.
Henrique Gouveia e Melo came in third place in the districts of Castelo Branco and Beja, just behind André Ventura and António José Seguro. It came in fourth place in the districts of Vila Real (11.78%), Bragança (11.5%), Guarda (11.66%), Santarém (13.33%), Évora (13.01%), Faro (12.5%), Coimbra, Leiria (12.84%, Lisbon (12.97%) and Setúbal (13.69%).
The worst positions of the former Chief of Staff of the Navy, that is, in fifth place, were recorded in the districts of Viana do Castelo (12.93%), Viseu (12.36%), Aveiro (13%) and Porto (12.14%).
In Porto, the district in which he came in fifth place, behind former PSD president Marques Mendes, Gouveia e Melo had strong support for his candidacy in this district, such as former socialist Minister of Health Manuel Pizarro and, above all, former PSD president Rui Rio.
