Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Tuesday announced his resignation after he was embroiled in a corruption investigation into the awarding of energy-related contracts.
The probe involving Costa and others covers alleged “misuse of funds, active and passive corruption by political figures, and influence peddling,” public prosecutors said in a statement.
Costa will also be investigated independently for allegedly intervening personally to speed up the awarding of licenses for lithium exploration and hydrogen production, the statement said.
Photo: AFP
“The duties of prime minister are not compatible with any suspicion of my integrity,” Costa told a press conference. “In these circumstances, I have presented my resignation to the president of the Republic.”
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa accepted Costa’s resignation and called for a meeting of parliamentary parties yesterday with the aim of organizing an early election, the Portuguese presidency said in a statement.
Before he can dissolve parliament and call early elections, the president must also convene the Portuguese Council of State, which includes the country’s most senior politicians, former presidents and other notable figures.
“The President of the Republic will address the nation immediately after the meeting of the Council of State,” the statement added.
Costa, from Portugal’s Socialist Party, has been the nation’s prime minister since late 2015 and was re-elected in January last year.
Socialist Party President Carlos Cesar said the party “is prepared for all scenarios, either early elections or a change of leader in the government.”
Costa told reporters that he was “surprised” by the opening of the investigation, while rejecting the idea that anything illegal had been done.
“No one is above the law... The judicial authorities are free to investigate,” Costa said.
Portuguese media on Tuesday reported that investigators had searched several ministries, and Costa’s offices and official residence.
Public prosecutors later said they had indicted Portuguese Minister of Infrastructure Joao Galamba and issued an arrest warrant for Costa’s chief of staff.
The investigation covers lithium mining concessions in the north of the country, as well as a hydrogen production project and data center to be built by the company Start Campus in Sines, a town about 100km south of Lisbon.
Citing flight risk and the possibility that illegal activity could continue, arrest warrants were also issued for the mayor of Sines and two executives at Start Campus. The president of the executive board of the Portuguese Agency for the Protection of the Environment was also indicted.
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