Constitutional Court invalidates election of the national bodies of the People-Animals-Nature party

The Constitutional Court has declared the illegality of subparagraphs a) and c) of paragraph 1 of article 3 of the Regulations of the X National Congress of the political party People-Animals-Nature (PAN) and, consequently, declared the election of the holders of the national bodies of that formation invalid. The decision is contained in Judgment (excerpt) No. 670/2026, rendered in Case No. 542/26, and was published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, No. 209, of October 28, 2026, in the Constitutional Court section.

The judgment is dated Lisbon, July 13, 2026, and is signed by the rapporteur, Counselor Mariana Canotilho, with the publication in the Diário da República occurring more than three months later. The text now released is an excerpt: it reproduces the summary and the decisive part, referring the full text to the Constitutional Court website.

The annulled election took place at the party’s X National Congress on December 20, 2025, and covered the holders of the two national bodies identified in the decision — the National Political Commission and the National Jurisdiction Council.

The decision, point by point

The operative part of Judgment (excerpt) No. 670/2026 is divided into two subparagraphs and closes with a note that there is no place for the payment of costs:

• Declare the illegality of subparagraphs a) and c) of paragraph 1 of article 3 of the Regulations of the PAN X National Congress.
• Declare, consequently, the invalidity of the election of the holders of the party’s national bodies — National Political Commission and National Jurisdiction Council — held at the X National Congress on December 20, 2025.
• There shall be no costs, “as they are not legally due.”

The published excerpt does not elaborate on the grounds that led to the declaration of illegality of the two subparagraphs of the congress regulations, a matter that will be confined to the full text of the judgment.

Two governing bodies affected

The invalidity of the election falls upon the holders of the two national bodies of PAN that the summary itself expressly identifies. The National Political Commission is the executive body of party leadership; the National Jurisdiction Council is the internal supervision and control body.

The formulation adopted by the Court is one of direct causality: the invalidity of the election is declared “consequently” to the illegality of the regulatory norms, meaning the second decision depends on the first. The judgment does not establish, in the excerpt now published, any deadline or mechanism for the replacement of the holders, nor does it pronounce on the repetition of the electoral act.

Concurring votes and access to the full text

The excerpt certifies the votes of conformity of the counselors António Ascensão Ramos, José Eduardo Figueiredo Dias, Luís Filipe Lameiras, and João Carlos Loureiro, with the rapporteur participating in the session via videoconference.

The Constitutional Court indicates that the full text of Ruling No. 670/2026 is available on its website, at the address corresponding to the decided case.

The ruling was delivered in July and has only now reached the official gazette, which explains why the decision only produces public effects known at the end of October.

The publication in the Diário da República makes the invalidity of the election of the national leaders of a political party official and opposable to third parties, leaving open, in the now-disclosed document, how PAN will reconstitute its social bodies and who will be responsible for the party leadership in the interim. For members, office holders, and local party structures, the decision removes the formal basis for the December 2025 election and necessitates following the full text of the ruling to understand the practical extent of the effects.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 209, of October 28, 2026, section Constitutional Court (official reference: Ruling (excerpt) No. 670/2026, Case No. 542/26).