BOLA – Parliament authorizes visit of the President of the Republic to Qatar (Portugal)
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who had requested authorization from the Assembly of the Republic to be present at the World Cup in Qatar on behalf of the «national interest», will even attend Portugal’s first game against Ghana, after having seen the commission Foreign Affairs parliamentarian approves trip to the Middle East country, this Monday.
PS, PSD and PCP voted in favour, the Liberal Initiative and the Left Block voted against and Chega abstained. PAN and Livre do not have a seat on the parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs. According to the Constitution, the President of the Republic cannot leave the national territory without the consent of the Assembly of the Republic.
Meanwhile, parliament also authorized this Tuesday the visit of the President of the Republic to Qatar. The draft resolution presented by the President of the Assembly of the Republic was approved with votes in favor of the PS, PSD and PCP benches, Chega abstaining and IL, BE, PAN and Livre voting against. PS deputies Isabel Moreira, Alexandra Leitão, Carla Miranda and Pedro Delgado Alves voted against this draft resolution, and PSD deputies Hugo Carneiro, António Topa Gomes and Fátima Ramos and socialists Maria João Castro, Miguel Rodrigues and Eduardo Alves.
For his part, the presence of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, is expected in Portugal’s second game against Uruguay (next 28th) and the Prime Minister António Costa in the last challenge of the group stage against Korea Republic South, by Paulo Bento (December 3).