Guard. José Pedro Branquinho is the CDU candidate

Trade union leader José Pedro Branquinho is the candidate of the Democratic Unitary Coalition (CDU) for the Guarda City Council in the next local elections, the structure that brings together the PCP and Os Verdes announced this Friday. “The CDU is running in these elections convinced that its role is fundamental for the democratic functioning of the City Council and Municipal Assembly”, said the coalition in a note sent to the Lusa news agency.

At the age of 60, José Pedro Branquinho Branco is a guide at the Côa Valley Archaeological Park in Vila Nova de Foz Côa, an association leader and coordinator of the Union of Guarda Trade Unions (USG), affiliated with the CGTP . He is a member of the board of the Central Civil Service Union and the National Council of the CGTP-IN, and is also a member of the Board of the Guarda Regional Organization (DORG) of the PCP.

For the candidate, “work, honesty and competence” are attributes recognised by the CDU , which failed to elect any municipal deputies during this term. “But at no time did we stop intervening in the political life of our municipality. Whenever necessary, we denounced, demanded and stood by the population , informing people, because we do not sit around waiting for campaigns”, said José Pedro Branquinho to the Lusa news agency.

Supporting farmers and local production, helping micro and small businesses, improving mobility and health services, and defending municipal services, such as water supply, are some of the union leader’s ambitions. “ The people of Guarda can continue to count on us to fight for a vibrant and developed municipality,” he said. The CDU is nominating nurse Honorato Robalo, leader of the National Board of the Portuguese Nurses’ Union and the Union of Trade Unions of Guarda, for the Guarda Municipal Assembly. He has been elected to the Guarda Parish Assembly and the Guarda Municipal Assembly several times. He is a member of the Board of the Guarda Regional Organization (DORG) of the PCP.

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The CDU obtained 1.3 percent of the votes in the 2021 local elections and, for the first time, did not elect any municipal representatives. Four years ago, the elections were won by the independent movement Pela Guarda, led by Sérgio Costa, with 36.2 percent of the votes, which elected three councilors. The PSD, which lost the Council it had presided over since 2013, obtained 33.6 percent and also three mandates. The PS elected one councilor with 17.9 percent of the votes, in what was its worst result ever in local elections in Guarda.

José Pedro Branquinho is the second official local government candidate in the district capital, after socialist António Monteirinho announced his candidacy at the end of February.