Constitutional Court Judge Says Banning a Party as 'Fascist' Is Extremely Difficult
Portugal's Constitutional Court has been asked to dissolve Chega, and judge Maria Benedita Urbano warned that declaring a party fascist is a very hard legal task.
The Portuguese Constitutional Court received a formal request to extinguish the Chega party after lawyer António Garcia Pereira urged the Ministério Público to activate the court’s dissolution powers, claiming the party violates the Constitution with its alleged racist and fascist character. Judge Maria Benedita Urbano, who also teaches at the University of Coimbra, confirmed the filing and emphasized that this is the first request linked to political extremism.
She recalled the court’s 2025 decision to dissolve the nationalist Ergue-te party for failing to submit accounts, and she referenced German Constitutional Court rulings on extremist parties as possible guidance. Urbano expressed personal belief that extremist parties should be banned but stressed the difficulty of legally defining fascism, questioning whether a leader’s Nazi salute or anti-ethnic advertising would suffice.
The complaint also points to Chega’s ties to the neo-Nazi group “1143” and past court orders forcing André Ventura to remove anti-Gypsy and Bangladesh posters. Despite earlier rulings invalidating Chega’s internal elections, the party has not revised its statutes and continues to hold congresses, illustrating challenges in enforcing court decisions.
