The candidate of the Liberal Initiative (IL) for the presidency of the Chamber of Braga, Rui Rocha, assumed this Monday (October 13) that he will be a councilor in opposition to the executive of the Coalition Together for Braga (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), which, he said, took “an orange card” from the people of Braga.
“There is a clear, global signal in these elections: the people of Braga say they want change, there is an orange card to the majority of Juntos por Braga. There is a large part of people from Braga who said they wanted change and that they did not see themselves in the management of Juntos por Braga, although Juntos por Braga won, but they are clearly in the minority in this election”said the former IL leader, speaking to the Lusa agency, in reaction to the results of Sunday’s local elections.
Rui Rocha recalls that he “always” was “very transparent with the people of Braga”, remembering the commitment he made: either victory in the local elections, or an opposition councilor, rejecting the possibility of future agreements for the formation of a majority executive.
“We will be in the opposition, we will carry out strict scrutiny of the executive’s actions, we will be responsible, we will enable what seems reasonable to us in the interests of the people of Braga, but we assume our opposition position, rigorous, demanding and with permanent scrutiny of the executive’s actions. I will be an opposition councilor”referred to the candidate from IL.
Regarding the results obtained by the party in Braga, Rui Rocha considers that, overall, at a national level, “these are excellent results, one of the best of the Liberal Initiative in Braga”.
“We have grown a lot, both in the council, we didn’t have a council, we now have municipal deputies, too, we have multiplied by four. We have also grown very significantly in representation in the parishes. Obviously the candidacy was presented to win, but I would say that it is a good result of the Liberal Initiative in Braga”, emphasizes Rui Rocha.
The Juntos por Braga coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), led by João Rodrigues, won Sunday’s municipal elections for the Braga Chamber with 26,378 votes (24.50%), just 276 more than those obtained by the We Braga Coalition (PS/PAN), led by António Braga (24.24%).
Both coalitions elected three councilors, the same number of councilors achieved by the independent movement Amar e Servir Braga (20.01%), led by Ricardo Silva, who for the last 12 years was president of the Parish Council of São Victor, the largest in the municipality of Braga.
The executive of 11 councilors is completed with the election of Rui Rocha, for IL (12.34%), and Filipe Aguiar, for Chega (10.41%).