Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal’s President, signed a decree on Monday, January 15. This act dissolves the nation’s parliament.
It also sets March 10 as the date for new legislative elections.
This rule appeared in the official state journal today. It confirms what the President announced on November 9.
This followed a political crisis sparked by Prime Minister António Costa‘s resignation. He belongs to the Socialist Party.
The government shared details from a November 9 Council of State meeting on the same Monday. President Rebelo de Sousa attended this meeting.
It happened hours before he told the public about the elections.
The Council of State includes the Prime Minister and former state leaders. They did not all agree on dissolving Parliament. The vote ended in a tie.
The president said he chose early elections on his own. He mentioned the Socialist Party’s big win in 2022, which was linked to Costa.
He believed a different Prime Minister would be less effective.
Portugal has now had early elections nine times since democracy began in 1974. This was after the fall of a dictatorship led by António de Oliveira Salazar.
Candidates for Parliament must submit their names by January 29. Election campaigning will start on February 25.
The crisis started on November 7. The Public Ministry of Portugal announced an investigation named ‘Operation Influencer’.
It looked into business deals involving lithium and hydrogen. This led to a Supreme Court inquiry into Costa. His name came up in phone calls about the case. He resigned that day.
Although more official information is unavailable, Observador recently reported on Costa. They said he might be involved in a crime of malfeasance.