Political parties are discussing the possibility of emigrants voting by mail in the presidential elections in Portugal

The Regional Council of the Portuguese Communities in Europe (CRCPE) will discuss with political parties the possibility of emigrants voting by mail in the presidential elections in Portugal, said the president of this body, Lusa.

The CRCPE will meet Wednesday to Friday in Lisbon, where it will meet with the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities, the political parties and the Adviser to the President of the Republic for the sector.

The president of this regional council, Pedro Rupio, told the Lusa news agency that one of the topics that will be actively discussed with political parties will be the possibility of voting by mail in the presidential elections in Portugal.

Recently, the PSD bill was introduced in the Assembly of the Republic, which aims to extend mail-in voting in presidential and European elections.

This possibility, according to Pedro Rupio, is “a tool that can stimulate the participation of Portuguese communities in elections and reach a number similar to the legislature”, which allows voting by mail.

“Thus, our political weight will be different, and we believe that our demands can be perceived differently,” he said.

On the contrary, he recalled that mandatory in-person voting conditions the participation of emigrants, a limitation expressed in the last presidential election in 2021: 0.68% of the total vote.

Pedro Rupio, who is no longer running for president of the CRCPE, who will have a new leadership on Friday, believes that this change is possible, but noting that “everything will depend on the political will of the parties that are in the Assembly of the Republic.”

“It is very important that we are in this period when we are celebrating 50 years of democracy in Portugal and, symbolically, it was also important for the Portuguese communities that April 25 reached the Portuguese communities through the political rights of the Portuguese emigrants,” he defended.

With regard to bills to amend the law governing the Council of the Portuguese Communities (CCP), which the government’s emigration advisory body has long claimed, Rupio expressed regret that some of the claims have fallen by the wayside.

It states, among other things, that there is no alternative to the fact that there is currently an overlap between the various structures of the CCP.

It also “didn’t see how the change in weight of European-registered Portuguese, who outnumber those outside of Europe, would be offset.”

However, he added, “the permanent council has a minority of advisers from Europe – four out of 12 elements.”

The bills of the PS, SDP and PAN on the reorganization of the CCP were approved in the parliament as a whole on March 3, moving on to discussion on the specialty.

Initially, the reorganization of this government advisory body for emigration issues was proposed in five bills, with the PKP and Chega drafts rejected by the socialist majority.