President Marcelo's Urgent Plea: Vote in Local Elections for a Stronger Portugal and EU Funds

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's Final Appeal

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who concludes his second term in January, delivered his last message to the Portuguese people regarding the autárquicas elections (local elections). He emphasized that tomorrow is voting day for these elections, which represent citizenship and democracy at its closest level, functioning effectively.

From the Palácio de Belém, Marcelo highlighted that there have never been so many lists competing for various local government bodies. He noted the proximity of electoral acts—legislative, local, and presidential—in a single year, reminiscent of the early days of democracy in 1976, 1979, and 1980.

The president praised the peaceful and civilized campaign over the past two weeks, which focused more on local issues.

Key Reasons to Vote

Marcelo stressed that the next four years will be decisive for the funds from Brussels, referring to the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan), from which over 13 billion euros still need to reach final beneficiaries, and the Portugal 2030 program, involving an additional 23 billion euros. He underscored that a significant portion of these high resources will pass through local power.

In his words, voting tomorrow is not just about choosing the candidates you know best; it's about voting to apply millions that won't return, appealing to voters' responsibility.

Marcelo also argued that not voting means renouncing participation in solving concrete problems in our daily lives, such as health units, schools, housing, transport, security, paths, roads, and the environment.

He justified this by stating, "In this year, 2025, not voting is giving up a unique opportunity to benefit from an unrepeatable financial situation."

Reflecting on his experience as a local official for 19 years, Marcelo added, "I guarantee you one thing: without strong local power, everything else is like a building without foundations, a tree without roots, a power with less power, or even no base power, essential for democracy."

Final Call to Action

He concluded with an insistent appeal: "Tomorrow, vote for yourselves, for your families, for your communities, for your future." Ultimately, he urged, "Vote for Portugal, which is all of you."