Chega's local government candidate representative arrested for setting fires in Montemor-o-Novo

Marco Silva, 40, representative of the Chega party's candidacy, led by Jorge Alcobia Pereira, for the Vendas Novas city council, was caught by the GNR this Thursday trying to start a fire.

Authorities had mounted a special operation on a road near Vendas Novas following small fires that had broken out in recent days. The GNR's objective was to catch the perpetrator or perpetrators red-handed, which they did.

Around midnight, the suspect was caught trying to start a fire. "He was in possession of a lighter, a bottle of alcohol, and newspapers," which he allegedly used to ignite the fire, a source from the GNR's Évora Territorial Command told Lusa.

Contacted by Lusa, a source from Chega's candidacy said that Marco Silva is no longer holding his position at Chega and that he had even requested to leave the party.

"Officially, he's still the representative, because legally it's not easy to replace him," said the Chega candidate for the Vendas Novas local elections after submitting the lists to court.

However, Marco Silva "is no longer serving as president" because he "wanted to leave some time ago," he explained. "He wasn't on the list, and we no longer have any contact with him," he added.

Jorge Alcobia Pereira even added that the 'former' leader informed the candidacy that he intended to leave the party.

It should be noted that Marco Silva was the top candidate for Chega in the Vendas Novas City Council, but was not elected. He was also the party's coordinator for that council.