PS and JPP will have reached an understanding in Madeira, one day after the PSD won the elections in the Autonomous Region without an absolute majority. The announcement will be made at 8 pm, RTP3 reports.

According to information provided by the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Administration, the social democrats obtained 36.13% of the votes and 19 seats in the regional parliament, which consists of a total of 47 deputies - 24 seats being necessary for an absolute majority.

PS followed with 11 elected officials, JPP with nine, Chega with four, CDS-PP with two and IL and PAN, with one deputy each. BE and CDU leave the Legislative Assembly, compared to the previous composition.

JPP, a party led by Élvio Sousa, was one of the surprises (and winners) of the night, managing to 'win' the municipality of Santa Cruz for the first time. Compared to the last regional elections, in September last year, it saw its presence in parliament increase to nine deputies.

Élvio Sousa, it should be recalled, postponed conversations and understandings with other parties until Monday, stating that yesterday was the day to thank the Madeirans for their votes. "Today we don't have to answer calls from any party, because the night is the best advisor", he stated on election night. "At five in the morning, if you have the opportunity, or at 6:00 am, you can call me because I'll be up, I'm going to observe the stars tonight", he joked.

Today, Monday, the secretary-general of Juntos pelo Povo (JPP) said that he is preparing "stability scenarios" for the executive in the wake of Sunday's regional elections, asking the people of Madeira to trust his "capacity for governance".

Also on Sunday, the leader of PS/Madeira, Paulo Cafôfo, considered that the electoral results showed that a change of government in the region is possible, saying that he is available to dialogue to build an alternative.

"These results show that a change of government in the Autonomous Region of Madeira is possible", he said, adding: "PS and JPP together elect more deputies than PSD". 

For Paulo Cafôfo, "PSD had its worst result ever in these elections", while PS "has the same number of deputies as in the last regional elections, but with a greater number of votes". "For the first time we have the possibility of building, through a party agreement, a new government for the Autonomous Region of Madeira without the PSD", he stressed. 

The Madeiran socialist leader pointed out that the objective is "to build a new government with stability and a government of stability".

The representative of the Republic for Madeira, Ireneu Barreto, will hear from the parties elected in Sunday's early elections on Tuesday given the urgency of finding a government solution for the region, his office reported on Monday.

[News updated at 6:52 pm]

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