André Ventura, from Chega, said this Friday that "calling prosecutors is a bad path", opposing the statements of the president of the Assembly of the Republic, Aguiar-Branco. 

"The imprudence of these words [from Aguiar-Branco] is absolute. It would mean that whenever a judicial process affects first-line political actors or protagonists, the Attorney General would have to come to Parliament to explain these processes", Ventura told reporters. 

"More than being absurd, it has a pernicious effect", he continued, saying that it gives the justice system the idea "that when you mess with the wrong people, you are called to the attention of Parliament".

"We must understand that justice has its time and that does not mean that it does not have to give justifications", he asserted, adding that "calling prosecutors to Parliament is a bad path".

It should be noted that the president of the Assembly of the Republic (AR), José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, considers that the Attorney General of the Republic, Lucília Gago, should go to Parliament to give explanations about the processes that caused political crises. 
 
Speaking to Antena 1, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco said that Lucília Gago should speak so as not to create a climate of suspicion.

José Pedro Aguiar-Branco added that he does not believe that "there is a premeditated conduct, on the Left or on the Right, to create political facts through criminal investigation". 

"None of us want to believe that there is a premeditated conduct on the Left or on the Right to provoke a certain political fact through a criminal investigation, but the truth is that no one lives alone in the world and it needs to be explained, because if it is explained and if the situation, when explained, makes it clear that there is no suspicion, I think we are contributing to these two worlds coexisting in a healthier way for democracy", he said.

As a guest of the edition that marked the four years of Antena 1's Geometria Variável program, the president of the AR considered it essential to have a regime pact for the clarification of cases in the justice system, but with a methodology "to get there".

"I hope the pact happens. The methodology to get there is important", he said.

José Pedro Aguiar-Branco was thus commenting on issues related to the Legislative and Regional elections of Madeira, which originated from investigations by the Public Ministry.

Asked if justice tramples on democracy, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco said he could not draw such a conclusion.

"Because I assume that things do not happen with that intention and that it happens involuntarily, it further justifies the need to clarify and have spaces where the Portuguese can understand, I think the Assembly of the Republic is the space of excellence for this to happen", he said.

José Pedro Aguiar-Branco was Minister of Justice in 2004 and proposed a regime pact for the sector, which is overdue, having already referred to the need for the Attorney General of the Republic to give explanations in Parliament.

The president of the AR also said that he considers the incompatibility regime of politicians to be excessive.

"I think that an excess of incompatibility regime was created in Portugal, which led to this. I am in favor of the maximum expression of the registration of interest so that in case of conflict, what I am, as a deputy occupying an executive position, if I have done anything that violates this conflict of interest, can be scrutinized", he said.

In José Pedro Aguiar-Branco's opinion, so much incompatibility makes it difficult to recruit political personnel for the parties.

However, the president of the AR understands that the parties must open up to society, with greater participation, involvement and party recruitment.

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