The case of the ‘deputies ' ghost’ of the Portuguese Parliament claims the first victim

The case of the deputies ghost of the Portuguese Parliament is not one, or two. The more one investigates the more examples come to light of Chamber members covering the absence of a peer group. In the morning of this Thursday, hours after a special meeting of the president of the Chamber in order to end up with the problem, resigned mp of the Social Democratic Party (PSD, centre-right) Mercès Borges.

As in the previous cases —half a dozen in the last two months—, have been journalistic investigations that have brought to light the irregularities of attendance of the deputies. The daily Observer published a video that looked at the mp of the first with the greatest representation in the Parliament, the PSD, to manipulate the computer absent Feliciano Barreiras Duarte.

Barreiras Duarte was general secretary of the PSD for four months, from January to April. He had to resign after he verified that he had embellished his curriculum studies at the University of Berkeley (USA), when she had not even traveled never there. Also took advantage of the financial aid to live off Lisbon, when, in reality lived in one of the main avenues of the city.

According to the dimisionaria Borges, recorded his companion Barreiras in the voting for the budget because he had to leave urgently due to a problem with his son and thought that he would be back. "That's what we do many times. It was not by any instinct of evil", he Betgaranti added.

Borges has announced his resignation from all his positions in the Parliament, although it has not specified if a waiver also to the act of a member, the whole time that neither the game nor the Camera are contemplated disciplinary action in any cases of impersonation.

At Wednesday's meeting of the president of the Parliament, Ferro Rodrigues, with the leaders of the groups, only agreed to be added to the voting process a step further, the use of a personal card. Was rejected the possibility of using a biometric control, although it is the only infallible, given that the card can provided as the current passwords personal. Before each vote, the chairman requested the services of the Chamber, the verification of the quorum, but, because of the journalistic investigations —not exhaustive— of the last few days it has been shown that it is not reliable.

The scandal began with the case of the deputy José Silvano, secretary general of the PSD, at the beginning of November. The political leader is merely responding that he is "an honest man".

Borges, president of a commission of inquiry and group coordinator in the committee Work, is the first victim of the wave of votes from deputies absent; in all cases, above, the majority in the cited conservative party, those involved have been limited to an apology,