Volt Portugal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | Volt |
| Leader | Inês Bravo Figueiredo,Duarte Costa |
| General Secretary | Miguel Torres |
| Founded | 25 June 2020; 5 years ago (2020-06-25) |
| Headquarters | Lisbon |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre tocentre-left |
| European affiliation | Volt Europa |
| Colors | Purple |
| Assembly of the Republic | 0 / 230 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 21 |
| Website | |
Official website | |
Volt Portugal is aeurofederalist political party inPortugal. It is affiliated withVolt Europa and was officially registered in June 2020 as the 25th party in the country. Volt since has contested several local and national parliamentary elections.
After the founding of the parent organisation, Volt Europe, the "5+1 Challenges" were adopted, which define the fundamental challenges that the party sees.[3] This was followed by the European policy document Mapping of Policies, which forms the basis for the creation of all of Volt's programmes.[4]
Since then, several documents have been added to the Mapping of Policies. Together with the Mapping of Policies, these thematically limited documents form the so-called Policy Portfolio, from which all national, regional and local programmes are derived.[5]
On 18 December 2021, the party presented an election manifesto for national parliamentary elections for the first time.[6]
In its program for the 2022 general election, Volt proposes electoral reform, the creation of administrative regions in Portugal to put more focus on the development of Portugal's interior, which the party says has been forgotten, and to hold a referendum on this.[6][7]
The party advocates equality in parental leave and freeChild care andkindergartens. Investment in better training for police forces should be increased,[6]ethnic profiling andpolice violence should be ended.[8]
Volt wants to improve culture and access for young people by introducing and awarding culture vouchers worth €200.[8]Jewish life in Portugal and theSephardic community should be supported and the application process for Portuguese citizenship of theDiaspora should be made more transparent.[9]
Public housing should be promoted and the proportion in cities should be increased to at least 10%.[10] The party also proposes programmes formulti-generational housing.[11] Volt also wants the introduction of anunconditional basic income (UBI) to be examined.[12][13]
The party is in favour of the rights of theLGBTQ community and equality.[14] The party is against discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, religion and origin.[14][15][16]
Volt seesclimate protection as one of the most urgent challenges and wants to work towards the goal ofdecarbonising the energy supply in Portugal and the EU by 2035 and achievingcarbon neutrality for the whole of Portugal by 2040.[17] In order to combatclimate change, Volt advocates the abolition ofsubsidies for fossil fuels and the inclusion ofnuclear power in the European Union's green taxonomy.[18] Volt also sees the expansion of rail infrastructure and combatingdesertification in Portugal as an important element of climate policy in this context.[19] In addition, investments will be made in the energy efficiency of houses to combat climate change and increase the safety of people in situations with extreme temperatures.[20] Subsidies forfossil fuels should be reduced and the financial resources freed up should be invested in the expansion of thepublic transport sector and a carbon-neutral mobility system.[21]
A ministry fordigitalisation is to be created to bundle expertise at state level.[8] This is intended not only to promote the restructuring of thestate apparatus, but also to combat fake news and cybercrime and help to reducebureaucracy.[22] By modernising and integratinginformation systems and thus reducing the level of bureaucracy through digitalisation, the state apparatus would be able to operate with higher levels ofefficiency andlower costs fortaxpayers.[23]
The party supports a reduction incorporate tax for companies that pay high wages and the introduction of new taxes, especially onunhealthy foods and medicines without scientifically proven benefits.[8] Labour law is to be harmonised with that of the European Union and awhistleblower system to combatcorruption is to be established.Unemployment benefits are to be extended and incentives forremote work are to be provided.[18]
Volt aims to promote regional industrial clusters by fostering dialogue between entrepreneurs, universities, trade unions and public institutions.[24]
In response to the problems in the 2022 parliamentary election, Volt called for a reform ofpostal voting and proposes the testing and introduction of digital voting, as is already possible in Belgium, Estonia and France. The aim is to avoid frequent mistakes in postal voting that lead to invalid votes and to speed up the counting process, as well as to reduce the costs of the election. In addition, the hurdles to participation in the election are to be lowered.[25]
Volt strives for acommon EU defence policy and a commonEuropean army. The party is convinced that national parties are no longer capable of ensuring security within Europe.
The basis for this should be a phased integration and closer cooperation of national European armed forces. The cooperation between Germany and the Netherlands, which culminated in the integration of theDutch army into theGerman army, is proposed as a model for this.[26]
Localpublic transport is to be expanded and improved in terms of frequency, comfort and journey times to make it competitive with cars. Therail network in Portugal is also to be expanded and Portugal'shigh-speed lines linked more closely with Spain and the rest of Europe.Cycle paths are to be promoted. Overall, the party's aim in the transport sector is to improve the networking of transport infrastructure and reduce dependence on car traffic.[27][10]
In the area ofhealth care, the party advocates the reduction of waiting lists and criticises the state of the National Health Service, low salaries and the slipping to minimum wage levels of employees and lack of rest days despite high workloads.[28][6]
The party advocates the legalization ofprostitution,soft drug trafficking,passive euthanasia, andassisted suicide.[8]Altruisticsurrogacy arrangements are also to be legalised, and the extent to which theblack market can be combated by legalising surrogacy arrangements of a commercial nature is to be investigated.[8] In view of the ageing population, the party proposes expanding the national health service.[10]
In the2021 Portuguese local elections, the party contested inLisbon (0.58%),Porto (0.42%),Tomar (1.36%),Coimbra (coalition 43.92%) andOeiras (coalition 7.57%), winning one mandate in Coimbra.[29][30] IndependentMEPFrancisco Guerreiro supported the party in the local elections.[31]
In the2022 Portuguese legislative election, Volt Portugal contested a national election for the first time, being eligible in 19 out of 22 districts.[32] The campaign's slogan is "Volt és tu" (Volt is you).[6] The party's goal is to achieve the most votes of the parties not previously represented in parliament and two mandates.[33] The party earned 0.1% of the vote and no seats.[34] The party achieved its best result in the constituency of European foreign countries.[35] After 80.32% of the ballots in the European constituency were declared invalid and a complaint by Volt to the Constitutional Court, the Court declared the election in the constituency invalid and ordered a rerun.[36][37]
In November 2023, Volt proposed to the PAN, LIVRE and IL parties that they form a joint progressive alliance to fight populism in the2024 early parliamentary elections.[38] However, the initiative was not taken up. In December 2023, the party then elected its list for the 2024 parliamentary elections, with Inês Bravo Figueiredo and Luís Almeida Fernandes as the lead candidates.[39] The campaign's slogan is "Volt, Paixão pelo bom senso" (Volt, Passion for common sense) and the party emphasises the importance of taking action against increasing extremism and populism in Portuguese politics.[40] On 13 January, the party presented its programme, in which it presents solutions for the expansion of public transport, climate protection, the expansion of social housing and health policy in particular.[10]
The party was running in 21 out of 22 constituencies.[41]
In an interview with thenews agency Lusa in February 2024, the lead candidate Inês Bravo Figueiredo declared that she is willing to support a possible parliamentary majority on both the left and the right, but ruled out any collaboration with right-wing populist parties such as Chega or the communist PCP and all anti-European parties.[41]
In May 2023, Volt elected its list for the2024 European election, withDuarte Costa and Rhia Lopes as list leaders.[42] In October 2023, the party elected a further 19 candidates, bringing the full list to 21.[43] The party received 0.24%.[44]
At the parliamentary election the Volt participated in 20 out of 22 constituencies. Lead candidates was the two party co-presidentsDuarte Costa and Inês Bravo Figueiredo.[45] Volt received 0.19%.[46]
The party participated in the local elections inTomar,[47]Lisbon,[48]Porto,[49]Castêlo da Maia,[50]Vila Nova de Gaia,[51]Loulé,[52]Odivelas[53] and supported joint lists inRio Maior,[54]Sintra,[55]Torres Vedras,[56]Oeiras[57] andÉvora.[58] The party ended up winning one city councillor in Torres Vedras, Rui Estrela, and winning one Municipal Assembly member in Rio Maior.[59]
In the2026 presidential election, Volt inicially supported Manuela Magno, a member of the party who had been a failed candidate in the2006 presidential election.[60] Although, she ended up not gathering enough signatures to be a candidate.
In early January 2026, the party supportedAntónio José Seguro, from theSocialist Party.[61] Seguro ended up winning the first round with 31.1% of the votes.[62]
Volt has been present in Portugal since December 2017 and, like other national offshoots of Volt Europe in Portugal, initially planned to participate in the European elections, but failed to obtain the required 7500 supporter signatures.[63][64] On 9 October 2019, the movement then submitted over 9000 signatures to be officially recognised as a party in Portugal.[65] After several delays and amendments to the constitution required by theConstitutional Court, the Constitutional Court finally made the decision to officially recognise Volt Portugal as a party on 25 June 2020. This makes Volt the 25th party in the country and 14th registered section of Volt Europa recognised as a national party.[66]
Due to the delays, the party was not able to contest theAzores elections in autumn 2020, contrary to what was initially promised.[67][68]
In the September 2021 local elections, the party contested an election for the first time in its history, winning a mandate in Coimbra.[30] Independent MEP Francisco Guerreiro supported the party in the local elections.[31] At Volt Europa's general assembly in October 2021, Volt and Guerreiro announced that the currently independent MEP would join the party after his mandate expired.[69]In January 2022, the party contested national parliamentary elections for the first time.[30] It achieved 0.1% and fell one mandate short.[34]
In May 2022, the founder and first president of Volt Portugal, Tiago Matos Gomes, resigned and left the party. The reason he gave was ideological differences with other members. Volt's National Council President Miguel Duarte took over as interim president.[70][71]
On 25 and 26 June 2022, the 2nd National Congress of Volt Portugal was held inSetúbal, where the new internal organs of the party were elected.Ana Carvalho andDuarte Costa were elected President and Vice-President, respectively, to lead the National Political Commission.[72] At its 3rd National Congress on 21 January 2023, the party decided to include in its statutes a model of joint leadership by two persons of different sexes as party leaders, which it had already been following since the previous Congress, making it the first party in Portugal to introduce such a model. However, the decision still has to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court.[73]
In 2026, MPFilipe Sousa met with Volt's MEPs, in order to discuss a partnership between Volt Portugal and theMadeira-based partyTogether for the People.[74]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tiago Matos Gomes | 6,240 | 0.1 (#17) | 0 / 230 | New | No seats |
| 2024 | Ana Carvalho Duarte Costa | 11,854 | 0.2 (#15) | 0 / 230 |  0 | No seats |
| 2025 | 12,150 | 0.2 (#12) | 0 / 230 | 0 | No seats |
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Duarte Costa | 9,572 | 0.2 (#10) | 0 / 21 | New | – |
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| Parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic (230) |
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|---|---|
| Legislative Assembly of the Azores Autonomous Region (57) |
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| Legislative Assembly of the Madeira Autonomous Region (47) |
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| European Parliament (21) | |
| Non-parliamentary parties | |
