Ana Poeta, former leader and municipal deputy of PAN Algarve, leaves the party

"This decision is the result of deep reflection and the accumulation of situations that I consider incompatible with the ethical, democratic and programmatic principles that should guide the actions of any political party," says Ana Poeta in the request for disaffiliation, "with immediate effect," to which the Lusa Agency had access.

Ana Poeta was the leader of PAN Algarve for a few weeks in 2022, before resigning from the position she had held in elections that pitted her against the current leader in the region, Saul Rosa.

The former PAN activist has been a member of this party in the Loulé Municipal Assembly since 2021, and was not yet an option for the party to head the list for the municipality.

Ana Poeta was also the top candidate in the Algarve for the 2021 legislative elections.

Speaking to Lusa, Saul Rosa said that there was a meeting with Ana Poeta to discuss her inclusion on the list for Loulé City Council in the October 12th local elections, although she was not an option to be the top candidate.

Among the main reasons now motivating the decision to leave are what the former activist calls "irregularities" in the internal electoral process in the Algarve.

According to Ana Poeta, in October 2022, during the electoral process for the PAN Algarve District Political Commission, there was misuse of members' personal data, illegitimate access to official media outlets, and usurpation of commissioners' functions.

"These allegations were reported but ignored by national authorities, revealing a worrying institutional collusion," says Ana Poeta.

The former activist also denounces the "hostile and discriminatory internal environment", with the "active exclusion" of members with critical or simply divergent opinions.

"I have personally witnessed the existence of internal persecution and systematic attempts to silence dissenting voices, which directly contradicts the values of inclusion and transparency that PAN claims to defend," he accuses.

Ana Poeta also criticizes PAN's refusal to support a "progressive coalition" in Loulé, with Livre and Bloco de Esquerda, which would be led by her.

"PAN Algarve rejected this proposal, alleging a vague and abstract lack of political trust, simply because I had been part of internal opposition lists," Ana Poeta states in the document.

The former activist also criticizes the PAN's "incoherent" and "incomprehensible" coalition in Faro in the local elections on October 12, in which the party is running in association with the PSD, the CDS-PP, the Liberal Initiative and the Partido da Terra (MPT).

In recent months, at least six PAN leaders have resigned and some have even left the party.