Speaking to the Lusa agency, João Fernandes recalled that this is his first term as president of the RTA, but in the previous one, he was also vice president, and decided “not to introduce noise in a future election” and abdicate from a second term as president, before questions about whether the two-term limitation applies to the office or the collective.

“An Assembly was held in the Algarve Tourism Region, with a single point on limiting mandates in Regional Tourism Entities. The current law – law 33/2013 of 16 May – refers, regarding the limitation of terms, that the members of the executive committee can only renew their term of office once”, said João Fernandes.

He explained that the legislation “does not discriminate if they are the presidents only” and if the limitation “is associated with the position or participation in the collective”, which created a “dubious situation” that he tried to clarify without success with the Public Prosecutor’s Office. General of the Republic (PGR).

“Having asked the PGR the question, I was told that they can only clarify, in accordance with the statutes of the Public Prosecutor's Office, questions posed by the Assembly of the Republic, by the Government or the Autonomous Regions”, he said.

“I took this matter to the RTA Assembly, saying that the interpretation is dubious, because it allows a reading from one side and the other, and I would not apply so as not to pose a problem to the institution”, he argued.

The president of the RTA thanked the vote of praise that was approved by the Assembly for the work carried out by the team in office and added that this body also decided to “send to the Government and the Assembly of the Republic a request for clarification on this matter” of the limitation of mandates.

João Fernandes was elected president of the RTA in May 2018, defeating the candidacy of the then-acting president, Desidério Silva, in the elections.