Parliament approves exceptional mobility and early voting regime for European women

The Assembly of the Republic approved this Friday in broad terms the exceptional regime proposed by the government, which will allow mobile voting and the right to early voting in next year’s European elections, with PSD, PCP and BE abstaining.

Also discussed are diplomas from PAN for improving voting conditions for people with disabilities and another for eliminating discrimination against CPLP citizens in local referendums.

Along the way, a diploma from Livre appeared, which was intended to secure the right to vote by mail for voters living abroad in European elections when voting against PS, PCP and BE.

During the debate, Interior Minister Isabelle Oneto guaranteed the safety and security of the regime proposed by the government, despite concerns expressed by the PSD and BE benches and serious reservations from the communists.

Asked by the Social Democrats about the costs of this process, the Secretary of State did not wish to give any figure yet, saying that a survey is being conducted, and specifying only that it will not be funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

“If it’s about increasing voter participation, whatever it takes, it’s worth it,” Isabelle Oneto defended.

With regard to the PSD, MP Hugo Carneiro agreed with the principle of encouraging participation in elections, but raised questions that were also raised by the National Electoral Commission, such as whether the government would be able to know “when and for whom I vote in each circle” – a possibility, rejected by Isabelle Oneto, while remembering that “the act of voting is public”.

BE MP Isabelle Pires asked how “no right to cheat” is guaranteed when voting can be held anywhere in the country and expressed doubts that early voting at home was in place during the pandemic.

PKP parliamentary leader Paula Santos went even further and even questioned the security of voting using dematerialized voter lists, asking how it would work in areas with poor Internet access, recalling the recent problems with global testing.

Chega, represented by deputy Jorge Galvejas, expressed support for all initiatives to increase participation in the elections, while the leader of the IL Parliament, Rodrigo Saraiva, deplored that an external factor was needed to “bring PS out of immobility” and criticized that that early voting is not possible in the regional offices of Madeira.

Socialist MP Pedro Delgado Alves stressed that for the moment it is only an exceptional regime due to “unfavorable calendars”, expressing confidence in the system as “all the tools are known”.

The Secretary of State reiterated that she has been assured that when a voter votes, their name and citizen card number are uploaded to the network, “he cannot vote at another table,” and stressed that anyone who still has ID will not be able to resort to to mobile voting.

The government charter will allow any citizen who presents a citizen card to vote mobilely on election day without prior registration at any polling station in the country or abroad through the use of dematerialized voter lists.

On the other hand, early voting is also allowed on the Sunday before the 2024 European elections and, as with the pandemic, there will be an early voting system for hospitalized patients, detained citizens and citizens temporarily displaced abroad.

The proposal comes after the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, under Portuguese opposition, announced that the next European elections would be held between 6 and 9 June 2024 – in Portugal on Sunday 9 June.

June 10 is the Day of Portugal, Camões and Portuguese Communities. And June 13 is a holiday in several municipalities, including Lisbon.