CDU in debates in Lisbon and Porto organized by SIC

The Unitary Democratic Coalition (CDU) will participate in debates with candidates for the Lisbon and Porto local authorities, organized by SIC, after the Communications Regulatory Authority (ERC) considered that its exclusion violated the law.

This information was confirmed to Lusa by a source from SIC's information department, who said that the debate with the candidates for Lisbon City Council (CML) will remain on the 15th, and the debate for Porto's local authority will be rescheduled for the 21st, "for practical reasons".

In a note sent to newsrooms, CDU Lisboa recalled that “from the outset it warned that SIC’s intention to hold a face-to-face debate between the candidates of the PSD/CDS/IL and PS/Livre/BE/PAN coalitions for Lisbon City Council, excluding the head of the CDU list (force represented in the current city council executive) [João Ferreira] constituted a discriminatory act, contrary to the law, which harmed democratic pluralism”.

In this context, the CDU — PCP/PEV coalition filed a complaint with the National Elections Commission (CNE) and the ERC.

"The CDU salutes all the democrats who in recent days have massively expressed their discontent and indignation at SIC's discriminatory attitude. This movement is inseparable from the current outcome," the communists' statement concludes.

The CDU candidate for Lisbon City Council is communist councilor João Ferreira, and the Porto local council candidate is former deputy Diana Ferreira.

In an opinion released on Friday, the Communications Regulatory Authority (ERC) considered that SIC violated the law on journalistic coverage and electoral propaganda by excluding the CDU candidates for the Lisbon and Porto city councils from the first municipal debates.

To prepare its opinion, the CNE notified the Director of Information of SIC and SIC Notícias to comment on the content of the complaint, to which he responded “the fact that SIC Notícias is holding a face-to-face between the main candidates of two coalitions (PSD/CDS/IL vs PS/Livre/BE/PAN (citizens for Lisbon) does not exclude the holding of broader debates in the pre-campaign or during the electoral campaign, as well as interviews with the main candidates”.

“This is, in fact, a first face-to-face meeting with clear editorial value […] SIC Notícias' plan is still ongoing and includes other editorial angles in which the CDU candidacy will be included in both Lisbon and Porto,” he added.

Chega also filed a similar complaint with the CNE, which was later forwarded to the ERC.

In the complaint, Chega's candidacy for Porto City Council argues that SIC Notícias "announced a debate, on September 14, face to face between candidates Manuel Pizarro (PS) and Pedro Duarte (PSD/CDS/IL Coalition), for Porto City Council" and that "for the remaining candidates, including those mentioned above and those who have representation in the Porto Municipal Assembly, SIC Notícias announced only a joint and subsequent debate".

In the decision, also adopted unanimously, the media regulator concluded that the option of whether or not to include CHEGA's candidacy for Porto City Council in the debate organized by SIC on September 14, 2025, is within the scope of the operator's editorial autonomy.

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