“The ANMP believes that all necessary investigations should be conducted in a timely manner, and that the State should equip criminal police bodies and magistrates with the means to do so, avoiding prolonged investigations and ensuring that those investigated are not publicly judged or prematurely punished without a court conviction,” it emphasized.
This appeal was made in a document on autonomy and decentralization, presented by the Mayor of São João da Pesqueira, Manuel Cordeiro, at the XXVII ANMP Congress, which gathered hundreds of mayors this weekend in Viana do Castelo.
The mayors noted that managing public affairs is increasingly demanding and difficult, with more complex issues to address and less time for decision-making.
There is also a “permanent change in laws and legislative options, with legislation no longer serving as a source of solid, reflective, and stable conduct standards, as the value of legal certainty has been sacrificed for the demand for constant updating.”
“Exacerbating the problem is the noticeably increasing complexity of normative texts, legal language, and their provisions,” it added.
The document recalled that in recent years, significant instruments on this topic have been approved, including the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism (MENAC) and the General Regime for Corruption Prevention (RGPC), with municipalities adopting and implementing their Compliance Programs.
“The ANMP advocates for an unwavering fight against any indications of criminal actions that jeopardize the requirements of legality, objectivity, and independence that should guide the exercise of public duties, vehemently condemning the misuse of power by public office holders for illegitimate interests,” it emphasized.
The Association stated that the exercise of public functions must be characterized by values such as transparency, impartiality, and exemption, with all crime indications thoroughly investigated and those responsible scrutinized.
However, it notes that “mere imputation of certain illicit acts, without any formal accusation, should not compromise the honor and integrity of individuals, as if political office holders did not deserve protection.”
“And they do deserve it, for the very defense of the Rule of Law. It is not acceptable for political office holders, especially local elected officials, to be publicly crucified based on unconfirmed indications, which may never be verified in the appropriate place—the courts,” it argued.
Therefore, the ANMP does not accept “any demonization of political office holders, especially local elected officials, stating that it is outrageous for them to be judged and condemned publicly without the right to the presumption of innocence.”
“Investigations of local elected officials, with the public announcement of a series of crimes, the prolonged suspicion, and continual media propagation, tarnish character and defame dignity and honor. There are damages that become irreparable to people’s reputations,” it concluded.
