The Legislative Assembly of Madeira rejected, by one vote, a request to lift the parliamentary immunity of the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Environment and Culture, Eduardo Jesus, after a debate on Tuesday. The measure was backed by 23 deputies and opposed by 24, with all opposition deputies supporting the waiver and the PSD/CDS governing coalition voting to keep the protection in place. The request had been submitted by the Judicial Court of the District of Madeira and was linked to comments made by Eduardo Jesus during the debate on the 2025 Budget of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ORAM 2025). Those remarks, directed at opposition deputies, triggered political controversy and criticism over the language used in parliament. JPP Secretary-General Élvio Sousa said public officials should not hide behind parliamentary immunity and argued that Eduardo Jesus had not personally apologised to the deputy involved. He added that apologising only to the President of the Legislative Assembly did not resolve what he described as offensive and unacceptable conduct toward elected representatives. CHEGA deputy Hugo Nunes also condemned the decision, saying the plenary ignored a unanimous favourable opinion from the Assembly’s Committee on Rules of Procedure and Mandates on 27th of May 2026 and turned the vote into a shield for a member of the Regional Government.
