About 80% of the 9,476 voters who voted this Sunday in a referendum in Benfica refused to extend paid parking in this district of Lisbon, council president Ricardo Marquez told Lusa news agency.
“Do you agree that the Benfica parish council is giving a positive opinion on the placement of parking meters in limited-time parking lots in Benfica?” was a question asked by the people of Benfica in a referendum that lasted until 7:00 pm in the schools of the district, in which 32,000 registered voters could vote.
Contacted by Lusa, the Benfica parish council president said that these preliminary results, which have already been sent to the National Electoral Commission (CNE), showed that 79.84% of voters were against the expansion of paid parking and 20.16% in favour, with 0.35 % of zero votes and 0.09% of empty votes.
“We are very pleased with this result because the number of voters was higher than the expected 8,000, and also because the number of empty and zero votes was very low. These figures show that the residents who voted had their own opinion on this issue and wanted to express it,” the mayor of Benfica said.
The results of the referendum have been sent to the CNE for approval within 48 hours, and next week Ricardo Márquez will organize a meeting with the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, the Municipal Company for Parking and Mobility of Lisbon (EMEL) and the President of the Municipal Assembly of Lisbon to evaluate it.
The mayor recalled that he currently has two petitions pending in the Municipal Assembly, one for “yes” for EMEL to enter the restricted area, and the other for a ban on paid parking.
The president of the parish council told Luza that he had defended from the beginning of the process that he “respects the choice of the majority of the voters and takes an opinion in the same direction”, leaving the council’s position against the entry of EMEL in more areas from Benfica.
“It was a very interesting participation, there were no problems, and according to our calculations, the national average participation in already existing local referendums was about 23%, and here 29.73% of those registered voted. in constituencies” in the parish, Ricardo Marquez said.
The result of a referendum is binding if more than half of the registered voters participate in it.
On this occasion, the chairman of the parish council of Benfica said: “By law, the referendum obliges me to respect the result of the referendum only if I get 50% plus one, but what I said, from the first hour, is that I will unconditionally respect the will of the majority [de eleitores] speak today.”
Asked what he expects from EMEL regarding the results of the referendum in Benfica, Ricardo Márquez replied that “Until today, EMEL has never made a decision that would be contrary to the decision of the parish council.”
For its part, EMEL, which on Friday declined to say whether it would respect the referendum result in order not to “influence the debate,” today sent a statement to Luza saying it accepted “the most absolute neutrality.” refraining from any statements or positions that could affect the outcome of today’s referendum.”
“The competence to create limited-time parking zones rests solely with the Lisbon City Council and is preceded by a binding decision by the parish council, with the parish of Benfica deciding to return the decision to the citizens,” he also pointed out. in a note.
On the other hand, EMEL emphasized its “concern in general that these debates arise in connection with its activities, which are nothing more than technical support and implementation of the decisions of municipal authorities acting through supervision, management and intervention.” in the public space.”
EMEL manages and regulates parking in Lisbon, both on public roads organized by zones – limited parking, and in parks that can be above ground, underground or in bunkers, and also manages GIRA shared bikes.
EMEL currently manages 37 parks in Lisbon, some of which are exclusively for residents and merchants, others are exclusively for rotation, and still others are for monthly subscriptions.
The city of Lisbon is also divided into limited duration parking zones (ZEDL), with the one in question being known as 9F on the map.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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