PSD, Chega and PS Break Two-Year Deadlock on Constitutional Court — Four Judges to Be Elected in May

Portugal’s three largest parliamentary parties have reached an agreement to end a political standoff over the election of judges to the Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) that has dragged on since 2024. Under the deal announced on Tuesday, PSD, Chega and PS will each nominate candidates, with the vote now postponed from 16 April to early May to coincide with the departure of the court’s outgoing president, José João Abrantes.

How the deal works

The agreement was complicated by arithmetic. Parliament originally needed to fill three seats on the 13-member court: two vacated by judges previously nominated by PSD, and one left by a PS-nominated judge whose mandate had expired. As the largest party, PSD claimed the right to nominate two candidates. That left a single seat contested between Chega — with 60 deputies, the second-largest group — and PS, with 58.

The deadlock broke when President Abrantes confirmed he would step down in May, creating a fourth vacancy. With four seats rather than three, each of the three parties can nominate at least one judge, and a fourth name will be agreed jointly by PSD and PS.

“The PS will nominate one judge, the other two parties will nominate two more, and the fourth will be agreed between PSD and PS,” confirmed Socialist parliamentary leader Eurico Brilhante Dias, adding that the PS candidate “will be a female judge.”

Chega’s historic entry

For André Ventura’s Chega, the deal represents a milestone: the first time the populist right-wing party has been included in the process of nominating Constitutional Court judges. Ventura announced that Judge Luís Brito Lameiras would be Chega’s candidate, calling it “a historic first moment.”

Ventura acknowledged the agreement was imperfect. “It was not the perfect deal, not the ideal deal — it was the deal that was possible to unblock the institutions,” he said, noting that Chega disagrees with allowing PS to nominate the fourth judge but would not block the process. “When you have a three-way parliament, you have to reach solutions.”

Why it matters

The Constitutional Court is the body that rules on the constitutionality of legislation — a role that has taken on heightened significance following its unanimous December 2025 ruling striking down the government’s first attempt to reform the nationality law. The court’s composition directly influences how it interprets fundamental rights, legislative process, and the limits of executive power.

Currently, the court has 11 judges in place out of a full complement of 13, with five nominated by PS, three by PSD, and three co-opted by the judges themselves. The election of four new judges in May will substantially reshape the tribunal’s internal balance for years to come.

Four postponements and counting

The election has been delayed four times — twice at PSD’s request, once by Chega, and once by PS. PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares insisted that the negotiations are now “absolutely settled” and that names have been agreed. “The negotiation is closed and concluded,” he said, declining to reveal specific candidates before the formal announcement.

The new president of the Constitutional Court will be elected by the judges themselves from among their ranks, not directly by parliament — a point that Brilhante Dias was careful to emphasise.