Presidential candidate António José Seguro claimed this Saturday that Portugal needs a competent justice system, which advances the process that led, two years ago, to the dismissal of then Prime Minister António Costa.
“We need justice on time, we need justice that delivers justice and we also need competent justice. Because, in this matter, we had a situation two years ago, with a prime minister in office [António Costa]which led to the resignation of this prime minister and I think that Justice should have advanced further in this entire process [Influencer] and draw conclusions”, said António José Seguro. “The facts must be established”, he insisted.
Speaking to journalists in the village of Cerdeira, in the Serra da Lousã, district of Coimbra, at the end of a meeting with university experts and forest owners on the topic of rural fires, the candidate for President of the Republic who has the support of the PS expressed support for the principle of separation of powers.
“But I am also in favor of institutions functioning and Justice must function on time and deliver justice. Because if it does not work on time, it is not justice and creates distrust on the part of citizens”, he argued.
Still in the Influencer process, regarding the case of the seven wiretaps in which former Prime Minister António Costa was involved and which were not communicated to the Supreme Court of Justice, “for various technical reasons”, according to the Attorney General’s Office, António José Seguro noted that the Public Ministry “came to clarify” what happened.
“And today there is a completely different scenario from the alarmist scenario that existed at the time [quando o caso foi divulgado]”, he stressed.
The candidate stressed, on the other hand, that the Justice sector also has to look at itself “to see what can change”, to maintain the trust of the Portuguese.
“We have too many processes, which are public, which drag on over the years, which drag on over decades, and this is unacceptable”, highlighted António José Seguro.
He also considered it necessary that “the prescriptions are stopped and that the Court can act and do justice at the right time”.
In this regard, Seguro recalled that, this year, a fine of 225 million euros ended up being prescribed, “after having already gone through two courts”.
Regarding today’s meeting related to rural fires, the candidate for head of state said that he does not worry about the forest and the rural world “only when there are fires”, recalling that, in July and August of this year, he traveled around the country, especially in the Central region, contacting the affected populations in burned areas.
Noting that preventing and fighting fires, in operational terms, is the responsibility of governments, António José Seguro defended the “need to learn from the lessons of the past”.