“We have received this complaint from the National Election Commission [CNE] which, coincidentally, bears a significant resemblance to the proposal from the Socialist Party [PS]. There’s a coincidence between the CNE’s complaint and the PS’s proposal,” stated Carlos Moedas during a public meeting of the municipal council.
After hearing the presentation of the PS proposal, which is yet to be scheduled for a vote, the mayor mentioned that he is examining both the CNE complaint and the socialist councilors’ initiative.
PS councilor Pedro Anastácio noted that the proposal aims for “the Lisbon City Council to refrain from using the municipal advertising network for political and electoral propaganda purposes, seeking to limit its use.”
The socialist criticized Carlos Moedas, accusing him of being “non-compliant and even a repeat offender in violating electoral law concerning propaganda limitations,” recalling that the social democrat had previously been condemned by the CNE in the context of the last elections.
Emphasizing that information shared on the municipal institutional advertising network, including Mupis scattered throughout the city, should serve citizens, Pedro Anastácio remarked that this is currently not the case.
“Citizens don’t receive any useful information for their lives, for their daily life in the city, from messages like ‘x keys delivered, the budget grows by x%’. None of this provides information that is relevant to people’s lives,” he argued.
As an example, the socialist pointed to the Martinho depression, where the council could have used Mupis to communicate useful information, such as road closures, stating that Carlos Moedas “does not use institutional advertising” for this purpose.
“There is a political option to deviate from conveying any type of institutional information from the Lisbon City Council in order to use political propaganda and the results of the president’s actions,” declared Pedro Anastácio, considering it a “censurable” practice.
“We are already in an electoral period, and his propaganda continues on the streets,” he exposed.
In response, Carlos Moedas defended the dissemination of “important information for Lisbon residents,” highlighting, for instance, the 86 meeting points in case of an earthquake and the health plan for the city.
“What has been done has always been in good faith in informing people, whether it’s in free public transport, the health plan, or the meeting points in case of an earthquake, so everything has been and is done with that purpose,” he assured.
The PS proposal seeks to limit the municipal advertising network’s usage to issuing alerts in disaster contexts; information on constraints resulting from works or other issues, such as roadblocks or occupation, traffic direction changes; changes in the routine of transport or waste collection schedules; anticipated impacts on provided services due to issues like breakdowns or strikes; dissemination of events or initiatives—cultural, sports events, or others; holding conferences, public consultation periods, or public debates important for the city; and dissemination of application deadlines in municipal programs.
During this meeting, the council unanimously approved a proposal from the Left Bloc [BE] for the creation of an informative campaign to encourage voter registration and political participation of foreign residents in Portugal, aiming to “combat misinformation and the obstacles that, in previous electoral acts, prevented many from exercising their right to vote.”
Currently, the executive body of the Lisbon City Council, composed of 17 members, includes seven elected from the “New Times” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança)—who are the only ones with assigned portfolios and govern without an absolute majority—three from the PS, two from the PCP, three from the Citizens for Lisbon (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), one from the Livre, and one from the BE.
