A three-hour reversal

At 15:55 on Wednesday, José Dias Fernandes, MP for the Europe constituency, emailed the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, requesting to leave the Chega parliamentary group and become a non-inscrito deputy. Three hours later, at 18:57, he sent a second communication asking for the first to be disregarded and confirming he would remain in the party.

Meeting with Ventura

Between the two emails, Fernandes met with Chega leader André Ventura and other senior party figures. The meeting convinced him to reverse his decision, though he told Observador he would still "ponder carefully" his future and did not rule out leaving later.

“I am certain things will change. And they must change.”

Diaspora grievances

Fernandes, who has headed the Chega list for the Europe constituency since 2024, said his frustration was rooted in the party's failure to deliver for Portuguese communities abroad. He cited electronic voting, taxation, and education as areas where legislative proposals needed to advance quickly.

“I came here to defend the communities, not to go on holiday. I didn't come to be just another one; I came to work for the communities so they can see that work is being done. That is not happening as I want.”

“I owe nothing to the party, I owe it to the communities.”

Party stability at stake

Chega holds 60 seats in the Assembly, two more than the Socialist Party, making it the second-largest political force. Losing Fernandes would have reduced the bench to 59, and a further defection could have cost the party its ranking. An official Chega source confirmed that Fernandes "will remain a Chega MP" and the parliamentary group stays at 60.

The episode echoes a previous dissidence in the last legislature, when Miguel Arruda became a non-inscrito after reports that he was suspected of stealing luggage at airports on flights between the Azores and Lisbon.