The document received votes in favour from the entire opposition - PS, JPP, Chega, IL and PAN, which together bring together 26 elected representatives, thus exceeding the 24 required for an absolute majority -, while the PSD and CDS-PP (which has a parliamentary agreement with the Social Democrats) voted against.

The approval of the motion of censure, an unprecedented situation in the archipelago, implies, according to the Political-Administrative Statute of Madeira, the dismissal of the Regional Government and the stay in office until a new team takes office.

In November, Chega justified the presentation of the document with the different judicial investigations involving Miguel Albuquerque and four regional secretaries, all of whom were accused.

Corruption

In the final statement, before the vote, the leader of the parliamentary group and the regional structure of Chega, Miguel Castro, stated that the initiative constituted not only a “political gesture”, but above all a “cry of revolt” against arrogance and the corruption that is said to be installed in the government structure.

“The government led by Miguel Albuquerque is an example of what we do not want for Madeira”, he said, highlighting that “corruption has become a permanent shadow that hangs over this executive”.

Miguel Castro considered that “the Madeira of wealth for some and suffocation for others cannot continue” and reinforced that Madeirans do not want a “government that governs only for itself”, but a “government of public service, transparent and ethical”.

The regional leader of Chega also appealed to the population “not to be fooled by speeches of fear”, referring to the warnings made by Miguel Albuquerque in relation to the difficulties generated by the lead in the Madeira Budget for 2025.

The leader of the PS parliamentary group and the party's regional structure, the largest in the opposition, accused the Regional Government and its president of “lies, blackmail and sabotage”, using the lead in the Madeira Budget as an instrument to “take political dividends ”.

Opposition

On the other hand, the parliamentary leader of the PSD, Jaime Filipe Ramos, highlighted that a “motion of censure is a political instrument that must be well considered and must not be used gratuitously or frivolously”. From his perspective, the motion discussed today “had none of that and did not take into account the most important thing: the lives of Madeirans and Porto Santos”.

The motion of censure against the Madeiran executive was “designed and written outside the region”, “thinking about the survival strategy of a national leader”, he added, referring to the president of Chega, André Ventura.

Jaime Filipe Ramos also said that this is “an attack” on the region’s autonomy and that “the next elections must provide the stability that Madeira needs”.

“I think Madeirans are tired of promises and confusion, of saviours and whistle-blowers, of the political chaos that greatly harms the lives of those out there,” he said.