The head of state called on Monday the nine party forces, which will be heard at the Belém Palace, in Lisbon, in ascending order of parliamentary representation, starting at 10:00 and at 30-minute intervals.

The hearings begin with BE, followed by PAN, IL, PCP, CDS-PP and Chega.

In the afternoon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa meets with the JPP, at 2:00 pm, and then with the PS and PSD.

After listening to the nine political parties, the head of state meets with the State Council.

This set of hearings takes place after the President of the Republic regained, at the beginning of the week, the power to dissolve the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, as six months have already passed since the regional elections of September 24th, which the PSD/ CDS-PP won without an absolute majority.

The Regional Government of Madeira has been in management since the beginning of February, after the president of the executive, the social democrat Miguel Albuquerque, asked to resign from his position after being accused as part of a process in which suspicions of corruption in the archipelago.

Following the dismissal of Miguel Albuquerque, formally accepted on February 5th, which led to the fall of the PSD/CDS-PP executive, the representative of the Republic, Ireneu Barreto, announced that he would keep the Government of Madeira in management until the head of State decide whether to dissolve the Legislative Assembly.

It is to make this decision that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa hears today from the parties represented in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira and the Council of State, as provided for in the Fundamental Law for the dissolution of the regional parliament.

To ensure an absolute majority in the Madeiran parliament, the PSD signed, after the September 24th elections, a parliamentary advocacy agreement with the PAN's sole deputy, Mónica Freitas, who refused to support a Regional Government led by Albuquerque until the judicial process that investigates suspected corruption.

The position led to the resignation of the regional leader.

The majority of parties represented in the Madeiran parliament support early elections.

On Monday, Miguel Albuquerque argued that there is no justification for early elections in Madeira and announced that negotiations were in the final stages to assure the President of the Republic that the PSD/CDS-PP majority would remain with the parliamentary support of the PAN.

For the social democrat, his victory in the PSD/Madeira internal elections, on March 21, and the fact that the PSD/CDS-PP coalition won the regional elections six months ago and maintained a majority in the most recent elections nationals “legitimize” the continuation of the coalition’s regional governance.