Do you want to meet Parliament? This Saturday, the doors are open

O Parliament will be open this Saturday afternoon to visits by citizens, an initiative launched by the President of the Assembly of the Republic to bring this body of sovereignty closer to the people and strengthen democracy.

“To bring Parliament closer to people has been one of my priorities. Opening the doors of the House on weekends is an invitation to come to see Parliament, to understand the work that is being done here and to ask questions. We want people to feel that this house is also yours”, says José Pedro Aguiar-White.

On the commemorative holiday of the implementation of the Republic on 5 October, the day on which Parliament also opened its doors to citizens, the President of the Assembly of the Republic announced that this sovereign body would be open to visits last Saturday of each month.

After the current experimental phase, the objective is to start opening Parliament as a rule on Saturdays.

“Parliament is the most important body of sovereignty in a democracy, because it is in the Assembly of the Republic that the sovereign will of the people is expressed every time there are elections. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to open the doors of Parliament so that the people, the people, all of us, can visit”, said José Pedro Aguiar-White in a brief speech he made on 05th.

On that same day, in statements to journalists, he noted that there are many people who only have the opportunity to visit Parliament on weekends, “because in other days there are the difficulties of daily work”.

“ An absolutely fundamental line of my mandate is to help strengthen our democracy. And for that, people need to feel the Assembly of the Republic, feel Parliament, as theirs”, he explained.

For next Saturday, for example, guided tours between 2:30 and 3:30 are already exhausted. The route of these guided tours begins in the main lobby, heading for the Senate Room, Gallery of Presidents, Visiting Room, Noble Hall, Lost Steps and Session Room.

Free visits can be made between 2:30 and 19:00, and the last admissions will be at 6:30.

This Saturday, shortly after the opening of doors, according to Parliament, a performance of music and dance is planned by the Amarante Conservatory.