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The Prime Minister has said today that neither the Government, nor the Parliament, nor the President of the Republic have the power to prohibit the congress of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) to be held next weekend in the midst of a State of Emergency ( EdE), the meeting of communists being protected by the law in force since 1986.
The XXI PCP congress will take place on November 27, 28 and 29 at Pavilhão Paz e Amizade in Loures, Lisbon district and 600 participants are expected, 50% less than the congress held in 2016.
“The EdE law is from September 30, 1986, a very old law that has remained unchanged. This law expressly states the following: the meetings of the statutory bodies of political parties, trade unions and professional associations shall in no case be prohibited, dissolved or subject to prior authorization, ”said the prime minister when asked about the matter during the information session of the advice. of ministers.
“What does this mean? It means, first, that the Government can only regulate the decree of the President of the Republic. And the President of the Republic can only prohibit in his decree what the Assembly of the Republic authorizes and what the law allows of the State of Emergency ”, highlighted António Costa.
“Even if the Government wanted, even if the Assembly of the Republic wanted, even if the President of the Republic wanted, none of us could do it under the law that has been in force since 1986. That is the law. I insist: the EdE allows the restriction to the extent strictly necessary, proportional and that the restriction of certain freedoms and guarantees is adequate, but only in the terms that the Constitution and the law allow ”, replied the Prime Minister.
“Not even a court can decide otherwise because the law is clear and comprehensive. I think it is one of those rare cases where you cannot use that aphorism of ‘where there are two lawyers, there are two opinions’, in this case we can add the number of lawyers that we want this law to be so clear by saying that under no circumstance prohibitions or prior authorization ”, reinforced António Costa, pointing out that the sanitary regulations of the DGS must be complied with during the event.
Loures is one of the highest-risk municipalities in Portugal and according to the regulations approved today by the Government, the delegates to the PCP congress will be subject to a double exception to the restrictions provided for that weekend in that municipality: they will be able to circulate after 13 hours on the weekend, and they will be able to move between municipalities, something that will also be prohibited on the respective weekend.
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