Portuguese Parliament Rejects Tiago Antunes as Ombudsman Despite Party Consensus

The Portuguese Parliament failed to elect Tiago Antunes as the country's new Ombudsman on Thursday, April 16, 2026, after the former Secretary of State received only 104 favorable votes out of 230 deputies — falling 50 votes short of the 154 required to secure the qualified two-thirds majority. The vote, conducted by secret ballot, also produced 86 blank votes and 36 null votes, a result that exposed deep resistance within both the PSD and PS parliamentary benches despite an inter-party agreement that had underpinned the nomination. Antunes, a former Secretary of State for European Affairs and former Secretary of State to Prime Minister António Costa, had been nominated by the PS following a deal with the PSD, but his close association with the Costa government generated significant internal opposition. The failure was widely anticipated: reporting by Observador on the day before the vote noted that several deputies from both parties had been threatening to vote against the nomination, and that the secret ballot format offered no mechanism for bench leaderships to enforce discipline.

PS vows reflection, keeps all options open Eurico Brilhante Dias, parliamentary leader of the PS, expressed regret at the outcome while insisting his party had honored its commitments. He stated that the PS Parliamentary Group had acted in an "adult and highly reliable" manner and had "scrupulously complied with the inter-party agreement," placing the blame for the failure on deputies outside the socialist bench. „The result was insufficient; despite the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party having scrupulously complied with the inter-party agreement, it was not possible to elect him this time and, therefore, we will enter a process, a short period, naturally, of reflection, in the first instance with Professor Tiago Antunes, to see what next steps we will take.” — Eurico Brilhante Dias via Correio da Manha Brilhante Dias declined to say whether the PS would re-submit Antunes as a candidate, describing it as "too early to present any definitive decision." He did note that deputies to the left of the PS had also voted for Antunes, offering the candidate some political comfort. The PS floor leader also highlighted that Carlos César, president of the Socialist Party, was elected to the Council of State with 67 votes, finishing ahead of Chega president André Ventura — a result Brilhante Dias framed as a political objective achieved. 67 (votes) — Carlos César's Council of State tally, ahead of André Ventura

Ventura calls for a fresh process, demands independence André Ventura, president of Chega, welcomed the outcome and called on parliament to begin a new selection process immediately. Ventura argued that the nomination had been a "bad choice" that recalled the legacy of former Prime Minister José Sócrates and what he described as "Costism" in Portuguese politics. „It was good that, in due time, parliament made this veto or this block. We are now in a position to start a new process that will culminate in the election of a good Ombudsman.” — André Ventura via Correio da Manha Ventura said he would begin establishing contacts between parties from Friday to accelerate a new election, and left open the question of whether the PS could again propose a candidate, while insisting that Chega wanted a say in the outcome. He also used the occasion to criticize the PS and Livre for what he described as deliberate delays in the election of the RTP Opinion Council, accusing both parties of blocking a vote on Chega's nominees without legal basis. Ventura said the episode was "very negative for democracy and for the prestige of parliament."

Parliament fills multiple other external bodies in same session While the Ombudsman election failed, the same parliamentary session produced a series of successful elections to other external bodies, all surpassing the required two-thirds threshold. For the Superior Council of Intelligence, deputies Paulo Marcelo of the PSD and Filipe Neto Brandão of the PS were elected on a joint list agreed between the two parties, receiving 159 favorable votes out of 226 voting deputies. For the Superior Council of Internal Security, António Rodrigues of the PSD and Rui Paulo Sousa of Chega were elected on a PSD-Chega agreed list, obtaining 178 votes in favor. The Superior Council of the Judiciary saw seven representatives elected on a joint PSD-Chega-PS list, including lawyers Alfredo Castanheira Neves and Carlos Barbosa da Cruz and former deputy António Barradas Leitão for the PSD, former minister Rui Gomes da Silva and Nuno Ricardo Martins for Chega, and Cláudia Cruz Santos and judge Vitor José de Sousa for the PS, with that list securing 193 favorable votes. The Assembly also elected representatives to the Superior Council of the Public Prosecution Service, the Superior Council of Administrative and Tax Courts, the National Commission for Data Protection, and several other bodies, with all those votes clearing the required majority.

Ombudsman (Tiago Antunes): 104, Superior Council of Intelligence: 159, Superior Council of Internal Security: 178, Superior Council of the Judiciary: 193, Superior Council of the Public Prosecution Service: 194, Superior Council of Security and Cyberspace: 176

The position of Ombudsman in Portugal is a constitutional office established to protect citizens' rights against abuses by public authorities. The role requires a two-thirds majority in the Assembly of the Republic, making it one of the most demanding electoral thresholds in the Portuguese parliamentary system. The nomination of Tiago Antunes emerged from an agreement between the PSD and PS, the two largest parties in the current legislature, as part of a broader package of elections to external bodies. Internal resistance within both parties centered on Antunes's close ties to the government of António Costa, who served as Prime Minister before taking up the presidency of the European Council.