"The PS, in terms of polls, is not far from Chega to be honest and, therefore, I would say that the alternative to the PSD in Madeira is Chega. Whoever votes for Chega must be aware that they are not voting for a crutch for the PSD, nor for Miguel Albuquerque, they are voting for an alternative against the corruption that is installed at a regional level", declared André Ventura.

The president of Chega spoke to journalists at the party's headquarters in Funchal, flanked by the head of Chega's list for the early regional elections of 26 May in Madeira, Miguel Castro.

Confronted with the statements of the head of the PSD's list for the Madeira legislative elections, Miguel Albuquerque, who accused him of not keeping his word and of "tavern populism", André Ventura considered that the social democratic candidate is "in a delicate situation, because he knows that he will not have a majority, even if he wins, and he knows that Chega is the party in frank growth".

"What Dr. Miguel Albuquerque has to understand is that Chega is a party with principles, that does not sell itself, as can be seen, moreover, in the Republic, and at the level of the Republic we are firm in our convictions and we do not sell ourselves. And no, we also do not want the left to govern, but that is not why we stop looking to the side in relation to everything that happens in Madeira", he said.

The president of Chega reinforced that his position "has nothing to do with procedural statutes, it has nothing to do with being a defendant or not, it has to do with explanations that are not given, about facts that are reported and that are public", considering that Miguel Albuquerque "is a bad candidate" and the president of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, "should have distanced himself".

"I am sure that this team led by Miguel Castro will not turn back and, therefore, we will make our firm opposition, if that is the result. We want to win, but we know it is difficult. We will grow. It may not be enough to win", he said.

André Ventura stressed that "in no case would he give the green light" to a governing agreement with the PSD in Madeira, noting that the regional leadership of his party does not need his approval because "it has always worked in great and deep articulation".

The possibility of an agreement with Miguel Albuquerque's PSD "would be absolutely contrary" to Chega's history and values, he stressed.

Regarding the governability of the region, André Ventura stressed that "the people of Madeira and Porto Santo have the key to the solution in their hands", with the responsibility to vote in the elections of 26 May.

The president of Chega participated in these first two days of the official campaign of the regional elections of Madeira and plans to return next week, anticipating that "it is evident that there is a dynamic of growth of Chega".

The Madeira legislative elections are taking place with 14 candidacies competing for the 47 seats in the regional parliament, in a single electoral constituency: ADN, BE, PS, Livre, IL, RIR, CDU (PCP/PEV), Chega, CDS-PP, MPT, PSD, PAN, PTP and JPP.

The early elections are taking place eight months after the most recent regional legislative elections, after the President of the Republic dissolved the Madeiran parliament, following the political crisis triggered in January, when the leader of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, was constituted a defendant in a process in which suspicions of corruption are being investigated.

In September 2023, the PSD/CDS coalition won without an absolute majority and elected 23 deputies. The PS won 11, the JPP five, Chega four, while the CDU, the IL, the PAN (which signed an agreement of parliamentary incidence with the social democrats) and the BE obtained one mandate each.

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