"We have a Government that is not only in full campaign mode, but also ignoring the guidelines of the CNE. A letter was sent to teachers during the electoral period, and now we have a letter sent to pensioners. We have a Government that is not only campaigning, but also has a great sense of impunity that ignores the guidelines and recommendations of the CNE", accused Pedro Nuno Santos during a visit to the Cherry Festival, in Resende, as part of the electoral campaign for the European elections.

For the PS leader, the issue is worrisome and, in the middle of an electoral campaign, "there are minimum rules that must be followed".

Pedro Nuno Santos recalled that the CNE issued guidelines, following a complaint from the PS, to the Government to remove publications on social networks during the electoral period, accusing the executive of having ignored these indications.

"The AD is campaigning, in elections and there should be a minimum of respect for the campaign", he requested.

According to the socialist secretary-general, by not paying attention to this matter, "the Government has this sense of impunity and does not comply with the guidelines of the CNE".

"The letter was today, we will see [if we file a complaint]. But it is starting to be too much, because I imagine what it would be like if the PS were governing. We are not going to pretend that there are no guidelines from the CNE that have been ignored by the Government. This is not the way for us to take care of our democracy", he emphasized.

Pedro Nuno Santos recalled that he was part of "a Government that always took this care" and that António Costa, then as Prime Minister, "gave very clear guidelines on this matter whenever there were electoral periods, whether or not they were in the legislature".

"And that is not happening at this time. To see if there is an awakening of all of us about what elections are, the campaign and the respect that we have to have for the rules of the electoral campaign", he appealed.

On Wednesday, the PS filed a new complaint against the Government with the National Elections Commission (CNE) for failing to comply with the decision of May 22nd that notified the executive to delete publications on social networks.

This new complaint, delivered on Tuesday and to which Lusa had access today, comes after the failure to comply with a notification from the CNE, on May 22nd, for the Government to delete some of the publications on social networks, because they were considered "institutional advertising" during the electoral campaign period.

"We found that not only are the publications still available, therefore those that were the direct object of the complaint in relation to which the CNE agreed with us, but also that publications of an identical nature continued", explained the socialist deputy Pedro Delgado Alves to the Lusa agency.

On the 21st, the National Elections Commission (CNE) notified the Government to delete some publications on social networks because it considered them to be "prohibited institutional advertising" during the electoral period for the European elections, following a complaint from the PS.

According to the decision to which the Lusa agency had access, made on Tuesday and of which the parties were notified today, this order to delete the publications on the Government's social networks leaves out those that were made about the extension of the deadline for cleaning up land.

[News updated at 3:44 pm]

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