Extraordinary Congress Demand Gains Momentum with 314 Valid Signatures in Madeira's PSD

314 Valid Signatures for Extraordinary Congress

After receiving the minutes from the PSD-Madeira, Manuel António Correia asserts that the request for an Extraordinary Congress was supported by 314 signatures from members in good standing—a number exceeding the minimum requirement of 300.

Allegations of Administrative Injustice

In a statement released this Monday, Correia highlighted that 71 of these signatures were invalidated by party organs, citing administrative issues and a lack of sufficient identification to verify the signatures. He criticized this action as a violation of the law.

Lack of Due Process

He pointed out that the party failed to conduct the necessary prior hearing or requests for clarification from the members affected, whose identities remain unknown. All submitted signatures included the membership number, citizen card number, and full name of the signatories.

Political Participation Impeded

Correia emphasized that this situation showcases the political participation obstruction of the affected members, preventing them from exercising their rights as enshrined in both the law and the Constitution of the Republic.

Criticism of the Party's Actions

He further accused the party of illegally removing signatures that did not match their archived records, some of which date back decades. This, he argued, reflects incompetence and amateurism within the party's secretariat, which cannot shift the blame onto others for its negligence.

Conclusion: A Palace Coup?

The former government official contended that these actions confirm the palatial and illegal coup aimed at silencing the voices of members whose ideas and decisions should be sovereign in a democratic party. In his remarks to the media, he quoted a revealing paragraph regarding the party's flawed approach: "Of the 562 forms submitted, after suppressing the aforementioned, 314 signatures remain, 71 of which did not match the party's archived records alongside the member's registration."