CDU Challenges Lisbon Election Results in Constitutional Court Over 3-Vote Margin

Election Controversy in Lisbon

In the recent local elections, the CDU coalition obtained three fewer votes than Chega, a narrow difference that allowed André Ventura's party to elect an additional councilor in the Portuguese capital. The coalition between PCP and PEV is now proceeding to the Constitutional Court to challenge the results.

Grounds for the Appeal

The CDU intends to contest alleged discrepancies in the results between the official record and the bulletin at one polling station. Another reason cited by the CDU is the "set of null votes" where "the voting intention is expressed for the CDU," according to the coalition's assessment. They also protest against "a divergence in criteria, because some null votes for other political forces were considered valid in the general count."

Statements from CDU Representative

Explanations came from Sofia Lisboa of the CDU, who emphasized that this "is a normal process." However, she admits that "this time it's different" because the vote difference is "very short" and thus has the "particularity of deciding, (with) few votes deciding" the election of a councilor.

Last weekend, the Secretary-General of the PCP did not consider the vote count closed.

Source: Lusa