Portugal’s president dissolves parliament and calls an early election after prime minister stop

LISBON, Portugal — Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated Thursday that he was dissolving the nation’s parliament and calling an early election, the announcement coming two days after Prime Minister António Costa resigned together with his authorities tainted by a corruption scandal.

The new election, Rebelo de Sousa stated, could be on March 10.

Rebelo de Sousa made his determination public throughout a nationwide televised deal with after he met with the nation’s Council of State, an advisory physique made up of former politicians and different veteran public figures of renown. That got here after he had met with the leaders of the events in parliament on Wednesday.

Costa, Rebelo de Sousa stated, will keep on because the nation’s caretaker prime minister till the election.

Costa, a Socialist, has led Portugal since 2015 and gained a landslide election simply final yr.

But he stepped down instantly after Portugal was rocked by a serious police raid on Tuesday as a part of a corruption investigation that included the arrest of his chief of employees together with 4 different folks and one among his minister’s being named as a suspect.

Costa took only some hours to handle the nation and say that, whereas asserting his innocence, he was unable to remain in his put up.

The investigative decide who ordered the raids and arrests alleged malfeasance, corruption of elected officers and affect peddling associated to lithium mine concessions close to Portugal’s northern border with Spain and plans for a inexperienced hydrogen plant and knowledge heart in Sines on the south coast.