"I am very pleased. And I want to address all Azoreans, that now the [Regional] Government has the necessary tools to do the best", stated the social democrat José Manuel Bolieiro.

The Azores Plan and Budget for 2024 were today approved by the majority in the Regional Assembly with 31 votes in favour from PSD, CDS-PP, PPM and Chega, 25 abstentions from PS, IL and PAN and one vote against from BE.

José Manuel Bolieiro said, in statements to journalists, that the approval of the documents highlights the importance of the Azores being "a reference" of stability: "stability through dialogue, through agreement".

"The attempt to create instability in the [Regional] Government only creates problems for the economy, society, families and companies. And, thus, I believe that the mission is accomplished and well accomplished", he stated.

According to the leader of the Azorean executive, with the approval of the Plan and Budget, the region ends the regime of twelfths that penalises governance, since it is not the same as executing "a duly approved Plan and Budget".

Questioned about the vote in favour from the Chega deputies, Bolieiro explained that it occurred because the party "came forward with concrete proposals to be accepted" by the Regional Government that he leads.

He also mentioned that "many other proposals" were included in the documents.

The leader of the Government of the Azores also highlighted that only BE excluded itself and voted against, "because it is always against everything and everyone".

"In fact, the other parties ended up, through their abstention, wanting to be part of a viability of governance and stability", he concluded.

The Azores Plan and Budget for 2024, which were voted on separately in the Regional Legislative Assembly, in the city of Horta, on the island of Faial, after four days of discussion, had the same final overall vote: 23 votes in favour from PSD, five from Chega, two from CDS-PP and one from PPM, one vote against from BE and 23 abstentions from PS, one abstention from the IL deputy and another from the PAN parliamentarian.

The Budget proposal, which defines the strategic lines of the coalition executive for this year, includes an amount of 2,045.5 million euros, similar to the one presented in October 2023 (2,036.7 million).

It was the second time that the coalition Regional Government, led by the social democrat José Manuel Bolieiro, presented a proposal for an Investment Plan for this year, after the previous one had been rejected in the Legislative Assembly, in November, with votes against from PS, BE and IL and abstentions from Chega and PAN, which led the President of the Republic to call for early elections.

The executive resulting from the early legislative elections of 04 February governs the region without an absolute majority in the Azorean parliament and, therefore, needs the support of some parties with parliamentary seats to approve its proposals.

In the February vote, PSD, CDS-PP and PPM elected 26 deputies, three short of an absolute majority. PS is the second force in the archipelago, with 23 mandates, followed by Chega, with five. BE, IL and PAN elected one regional deputy each, completing the 57 elected.

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