The President of the Republic convened the Council of State for January 17, after having heard the parties represented in the Regional Legislative Assembly of Madeira, following the motion of censure against the Regional Government.
A date that, from the outset, rules out the possibility of holding elections on March 9, as most parties wanted.
Electoral law requires a minimum of 55 days’ notice before the election date (article 19 of the electoral law). For this reason, the date of 9 March, the preferred date of the parties, is ruled out.
If he decides to dissolve the regional parliament immediately after the Council of State meeting, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa could still schedule the elections for March 16. If he delays the decision a little, the elections could be held on the 23rd.