As previously mentioned, NOVIDADES will do regular segments on the upcoming elections in the Azores. Several readers of this platform have reached out to us regarding information about the elections and how, in the Diaspora (especially in English), there isn’t much information about the Azrean political system. Between now and February 4th, we will regularly run segments from the Azorean Press on the elections. Recently, we featured the two main political forces, the center-left (PS) and the center-right coalition (PSD-CDS-PPM). 

BE wants to strengthen the vote.

The coordinator of BE/Açores said yesterday that the party wants to strengthen the vote in the February 4 elections, claiming that neither a right-wing government nor a PS majority will bring change to the region.
“It’s this reinforcement that will effectively allow changes to take place, which can’t be achieved by a right-wing government or an absolute PS majority,” said the coordinator of the Left Bloc in the Azores, António Lima, on the sidelines of the delivery of the list by the São Miguel constituency, in Ponta Delgada.
António Lima, who has been a member of the Azores Legislative Assembly since 2017, heads the São Miguel and compensation constituencies, the two in which the BE secured mandates in 2020.
The party is running candidates in all 10 constituencies in the Azores, with current Deputy Alexandra Manes heading the constituency for Terceira Island.
Aurora Ribeiro leads the list for Faial, Daniela Silveira for Pico, and Pedro Amaral for Santa Maria.
In São Jorge, the first candidate is Eugénio Viana, in Graciosa Ricardo Toste, in Flores Nelson Amaral, and in Corvo Maria Amaral.

The BE (Bloco de Esquerda–Left Bloc) is a left-wing party. 

IL runs on seven islands.

The Liberal Initiative will run in the early regional legislative elections on February 4 in eight of the ten constituencies in the Azores, which represents a “fairly large increase” compared to the 2020 candidacy, the party’s regional leader said yesterday.
“The party will be running in seven constituencies [plus the regional compensation constituency]. It’s only not running in Flores and Corvo,” said Nuno Barata, IL’s sole deputy in the regional parliament, after the candidates’ list was delivered to the court in Ponta Delgada.
“We’ve grown in the number of members, we’ve grown in the number of supporters, we’ve grown in spontaneous memberships, so we’re on the right track,” insisted Nuno Barata, noting that the IL no longer only has a presence on the islands of São Miguel and Terceira, but is now a regional party.
The regional leader of the Iniciativa Libe- ral also said that throughout this legislature, now interrupted by the call for early elections due to the rejection of the regional budget for 2024, the party “demonstrated” to the Azoreans “that liberalism is good, works and is needed” in the archipelago, which is why he foresees growth in this election.
Nuno Barata heads the list of candidates for the São Miguel constituency and the compensation constituency, Rui Braga Chaves will be the head of the list for Santa Maria, Pedro Ferreira for Terceira, Luís Gonzaga Sousa for Faial, Marco Garcia da Rosa for Pico, Vasco Azevedo for São Jorge and Ana Martins for Graciosa.

The IL is a right-wing party in the libertarian tradition here in the US. 

CDU leader not running


In the city of Horta, the CDU/Azores presented the PCP/PEV coalition’s list of candidates for the early regional elections on February 4, which, by choice, does not include the name of the party’s regional leader.
“It’s a party choice. Naturally, I will not fail to participate in the campaign with commitment and dedication,” explained Marco Varela. In addition to Paula Decq Mota (head of the list for the Faial constituency and the regional compensation constituency), the CDU is also presenting the following as candidates for the February regional elections: Durval Mendonça (Corvo); Luísa Corvelo (Flores); Joana Fonseca (Graciosa); Paulo Correia (Pico); António Salgado (São Jorge); Pedro Bartolomeu (Terceira); Rui Teixeira (São Miguel) and Ana Lora (Santa Maria).

The CDU is a left-wing coalition headed by the Portuguese Communist Party-Azores. 

PAN/Açores once again presented lists from all the Azorean islands.


PAN/Açores’ current spokesperson and deputy, Pedro Neves, will be the first candidate for the São Miguel constituency and Compensation constituency.
The PAN says it has a list of candidates aged between 24 and 60, including the frontrunners Frederico Ferreira for Terceira, Alexandre Costa for Faial, Helena Amaral for Pico, Cláudia Hipólito for Flores, Nuno Pascoal for São Jorge, Sara Vieira for Graciosa, Sérgio Nascimento for Santa Maria and Beatriz Botelho for Corvo.
“Like the work carried out by PAN/Azores over the last three years, our commitment will focus on defending the interests of the population of the Azores, while working to develop environmentally sustainable policies in the region and raising awareness of animal rights, fighting cruelty and ensuring the well-being of all spheres of society,” said Pedro Neves.

The PAN (Party of People, Animals and Nature) is an animal rights party.

Chega runs for all constituencies.

Chega/Açores will run in all the constituencies in the early regional elections on February 4, presenting current Assemblymember José Pacheco as the head of the list for São Miguel, aiming to ” grow to six or seven deputies.”
The Chega regional leader assured that the party “is working hard” to present “good proposals” to the electorate, adding that the election manifesto is being finalized and already has “80 pages, covering all areas”, with “contributions from civil society”.
In addition to José Pacheco, Chega is also presenting the following as candidates for the early regional elections on February 4: Dimas Costa (Santa Maria), Francisco Lima (Terceira), Francisco Dutra (Pico), Liliana Pereira (Faial), Valdemar Furtado (São Jorge), Bru- no Costa (Graciosa), José Paulo Sousa (Flores) and Luís Franco (Corvo).

Chega is an extreme right party. Organized through populist rhetoric at a national level by its leader André Ventura, who has personified this movement, it has been an anti-immigration and ultra-conservative party that some in Portugal have compared with other extreme right-wing European forces. At a national level, it is the third major political force in Portugal.  

From reports in Diário dos Acores – Osvaldo Cabral, Director, and NOVIDADES brief explanations of the situation of each political force in the Azorean political spectrum. 

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno.