Portugal will head to the polls again this Sunday to elect representatives for municipal councils, parish councils, and municipal assemblies. How does this process work?
Polling Stations Open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Polling stations open at 8 a.m. in mainland Portugal and Madeira. In the Azores, the time remains the same, but it will be 9 a.m. on the mainland.
By 7 p.m., polling stations across the country will close. When voters finish casting their ballots in the Azores, it will be 8 p.m. on the mainland.
Voting Location
If unsure of your voting location, you can send a free SMS to 3838 with the message RE (space) ID card number (space) date of birth=yyyymmdd.
You can also check this information on this website.
Who Can Vote
All Portuguese citizens aged 18 or older can vote in these elections, as can Brazilians with a citizen card or identity card (with equal political rights status).
Additionally, foreign nationals from:
– EU Member States (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, and Sweden);
– The United Kingdom, residing in Portugal before Brexit;
– Brazil, with equal political rights status;
– Brazil (without equal political rights status) or Cape Verde, residing in Portugal for more than 2 years;
– Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, Peru, United Kingdom, Uruguay, or Venezuela, residing in Portugal for more than 3 years.
What Is Being Elected
This Sunday’s election will select candidates for the municipal council, municipal assembly, and parish assembly. You do not have to vote for all positions if you choose not to. If you opt not to, inform the polling station officials so it can be recorded as an abstention.
Each body has a different ballot identified by its symbol and different colors: white for the parish assembly, yellow for the municipal assembly, and green for the municipal council.
What You Need to Vote
You should bring your citizen card, identity card, or another form of photo identification commonly used (such as a driver’s license) to the polling station.
What If You Have No Identification?
In this case, a polling station official must recognize you. If not, you will be unable to vote.
Who Are the Candidates in My Municipality?
The final lists for each municipality have been posted on notices in courts, municipal councils, and parish councils. Today, they will also be displayed near your voting location.
How Do I Get to the Polls?
Voters must make their way to their voting station by personal means.
The National Election Commission (CNE) only provides for special public transport in certain cases where there are significant distances without regular public transport, or if voter difficulty requires it.
It must ensure absolute impartiality and neutrality in organizing transportation, that voters are not pressured in their voting decision, and that no selection or screening of who can use the transport takes place.
Can a Person with Disabilities Be Accompanied While Voting?
If polling officials verify that the person is too impaired to vote alone, yes, they can be accompanied.
Queue Priorities
People with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with small children are given priority in voting lines.
Results
Projections based on exit polls by the media begin at 8 p.m. More concrete results will be known later as votes are counted.
Campaigning on Election Day
By law, campaigning and any propaganda in or within 50 meters of the polling station buildings are prohibited on election day.
Invalid Votes
The CNE considers a vote invalid if more than one option is marked, if there is doubt about which box was marked, if a rejected or withdrawn candidature is selected, or if the ballot contains drawings, cuts, erasures, or any written words.
Blank Votes
Occurs when no option is selected.
All the information in this article can be found in more detail at the National Election Commission’s website (here).
