The spokesperson for this body announced that the Standing Committee will meet on Monday, 7 September, to convene the plenary session for the following day, as Parliament is currently outside its official sitting period.

This date was neither of the two proposed by the Speaker of Parliament in the notice he sent to the parties on Thursday, in which Aguiar-Branco suggested that parliamentary leaders choose a date between 10 and 17 September.

According to PSD MP Francisco Figueira, the Standing Committee will meet on Monday 7 September at 3.00 pm, and the plenary session on Tuesday 8 September, also at 3.00 pm – a decision he said was reached by consensus.

“Although all parties agreed with the view and proposals of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, it was also agreed that this matter should be resolved as quickly as possible,” he explained.

According to the spokesperson for the leaders’ conference, “it was agreed that it is in the national interest to resolve the matter as quickly as possible”, and it was understood that “this solution was possible under the rules of procedure and the Constitution”.

This will be the first time that the Assembly of the Republic has debated a motion of no confidence outside its official sitting period.

When asked about the statutory hearing of the Minister for Internal Administration, Luís Neves, scheduled for Tuesday at 3.30 pm, the spokesperson for the Leaders’ Conference referred the matter to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs for rescheduling.

“What is certain is that, as the debate on the motion of no confidence will take place on the 8th, there will certainly be no parliamentary committees that afternoon – neither the one scheduled for the Minister for Internal Administration nor any other – because there will be no parliamentary business other than the debate on the motion of no confidence,” he stated.

The time allocation for the motion of no confidence will be the standard 166 minutes for such motions, and this decision was also reached by consensus.

Motion of no confidence

On 3 September, the Chega party tabled a motion of no confidence in the Government in Parliament, entitled “For an end to a Government lacking political authority, incapable of assuming responsibilities and of ensuring confidence in the institutions”, relating to the controversies surrounding Minister Luís Neves.

The Rules of Procedure stipulate that the debate on a motion of no confidence must begin on the “third parliamentary day” following its tabling.

Should the motion of no confidence be rejected, its signatories may not table another one during the same legislative session. The first legislative session of the 17th Parliament will continue until the 14th, with the next session due to begin on 15 September.