DRAFT LAW NO. 562 /X

AMENDMENT TO THE ELECTORAL LAW OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC

Exhibition of Motives

1. The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic determines that the exercise of political power

by the people to do for the "universal suffrage, equal, direct, secret and periodic" and by the

too many forms in it predicted. Suffrage, and the rules that structure it, constitutes a

essential instrument of designation of political officeholders and hence their

determinant importance in the functioning of democracy. The draft law that

we present, with this initiative, it aims to regulate the election of Members to the Assembly of the

Republic to ensure the presential vote of the Portuguese residents in the

foreign.

Now, the organisation of the electoral process abroad is regulated in

autonomous diploma since 1976, particularly with regard to the election for the

Assembly of the Republic, disciplined majority-by the standards provided for in the

Decree-Law No 95-C/76 of January 30. We understand, however, that this

autonomization is not justified, not only because the census regime and the legislation

regulation of elections for the Assembly of the Republic change the majority of the

articles of that degree, but above all, because we believe that the legislative elections

out of the national territory shall be carried out through presential voting and not voting by

correspondence.

The prediction of the organization of the electoral process abroad in autonomous diploma

it was only justified, until now, by the duality of existing situations, which established the

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principle of the personality of the vote in the national territory and allowed the vote by

correspondence abroad. Thus, with the draft law presenting itself, to the

extend the presential vote to Portuguese voters residing outside the territory

national, it leaves entirely to justify the existence of an autonomous diploma for

the voters resident abroad. By consecrating the presential vote out of the

national territory, it fully secures the essential feature of the right of

suffrage that is your personal exercise, reinforcing the tutelage of the imperatives

constitutional persons of personality and secrecy of their exercise.

Incidentally, this solution goes to the meeting of the legal framework already stipulated in the electoral law

of the President of the Republic, who introduced the presential vote in and out of the territory

national in the presidential elections.

2. The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic determines, in its Article 49, paragraph 2, the

principle of the personality of the vote, which translates into the fact that the exercise of the right of

suffrage to be incommunicable and unceible of representation or proxy, owing to

exercised by the holder itself and result from the direct manifestation of the will of the voter,

without there being any intervention of will alhemeness. That way, redunda of this

constitutional principle that the rule should be that of presentiality, allowing itself only

in exceptional situations their remoteness. This is because, only the presential vote attests

which is the voter itself that makes the choice of the candidate, guarantees the non-intervention of

wishes alheia in the electoral process and ensures the secrecy of the vote.

Thus, and in such a way as to ensure the exercise of this right, with the same reliability,

transparency and thoroughness, dento and outside the national territory, the vote is expected to be

presential and commenting on the second day prior to the one scheduled for election in the territory

national. It is still widened the possibility of early voting for census voters

in the national territory and displaced abroad, such as military, militarized agents

and integrated civilians in peacekeeping operations, technical-military cooperation or

equips; doctors, nurses and other citizens integrated into missions

humanitarian, as such recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

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researchers and fellows at university institutions or equiparades, as such

recognized by the relevant ministry; students from higher schools, under the

exchange programs; as well as citizens spouses or equiped electives,

relatives or related purposes living with the voters mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

Under the applicable constitutional and regimental provisions, the Deputies,

below signed, of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party, present the following

draft law:

Article 1.

Amendments to Law No. 14/79 of May 16

Articles 20, 25, 41, 47, 79, 79, 107, 107, 107, and 108, 107 and 108 of the Law n.

14/79, of May 16, with the amendments made by Law No. 8/81 of June 15,

by Law No. 28/82 of November 15 by the Law No. 14-A/85 of July 10, by the

Decree-Law No. 55/88 of February 26, by Law No. 5/89 of March 17, by the Law

n ° 18/90 of July 24 by Law No. 31/91 of July 20 by Law No. 55/91 of 10 of

August, by Law No. 72/93 of November 30, by Law No. 10/95 of April 7, by the

Law No. 35/95 of August 18, by the Organic Law No. 1/99 of June 22 and by the Law

Organic No 2/2001 of August 25, shall be replaced by the following:

" Article 20.

[...]

1. [...]

2. From abroad, voting starts at 2. the previous day when scheduled for election in the

national territory and ends on that day.

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3. From abroad, the vote runs between 8 and 19 local time, competing at the table

of the assembly vote, with the collaboration of the candidates ' delegates, guarantee the

conditions of freedom to vote during the three days of voting and their interruptions,

as well as the inviolability of electoral ballot boxes, which are sealed at the beginning of the

election operations.

Article 25.

[...]

1. Applicants from each list designate from among them or from among the voters

enrolled in the respective representative circle to represent them in the operations

referring to the trial of eligibility and subsequent operations, and may in the

case of the circles of the resident voters abroad being appointed a voter

inscribed on the national territory.

2. [...]

Article 41.

[...]

1. [...]

2 . Abroad, the polling stations meet in the terms of the n. the

2 and 3 of the article

20.

Article 43.

[...]

1. [...].

2. [...].

3. Dealing with voting assemblies operating abroad, competence

provided for in paragraph 1 is of the chair of the census committee.

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Article 47.

[...]

1. [...].

2. [...].

3. [...].

4. [...].

5. [...].

6. [...].

7. [...].

8. Dealing with voting assemblies operating abroad, the

competencies assigned to the mayor of the city hall understand each other

to the chairman of the census committee.

9. Addressing of voting assemblies operating abroad, the edital

provided for in paragraph 4 is affixed to the door of the place where the same meets on the day of

election, the participation provided for in paragraph 6 being waived.

Article 48.

[...]

1. [...].

2. [...].

3. [...].

4. [...].

5. [...].

6. No foreigner, identical right is assigned to the members of the bureau who exercise

functions in national official entities or services.

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Article 79º

Personality and the presentiality of the vote

1. The right to suffrage is exercised directly by the elector citizen.

2. [...]

3. [...]

4. abroad, you will only be admitted to voting for the elector entered in the electoral notebook

existing at the post or consular section to which the locality where resides.

Article 79º-The

[...]

1. [...]

2. They can still vote in advance for the following census electors in the territory

national and displaced abroad:

a) Military, militarized agents and integrated civilians in maintenance operations of

peace, technical-military cooperation or equiparation;

b) Doctors, nurses and other citizens integrated into humanitarian missions, such as

such recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

c) Investigators and fellows in university institutions or equiparters, as such

recognized by the competent ministry;

d) Students of higher schools, under exchange programmes.

3. They may still vote in advance for the citizens registered or similar electorate,

relatives or related purposes living with the voters mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

4. [previous n. 2]

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5. [previous n. 3]

Article 95.

[...]

1. [...].

2. [...].

3. [...].

4. [...].

5. [...].

6. [...].

7. [...].

8 . Addressing polling stations that assemble outside the national territory, the

competencies assigned to the mayor of the city hall in the previous number

will be understood to be deposed to the chair of the census commission.

Article 107.

[...]

1. The clearance of the results of the election in each constituency and the proclamation of the

elected candidates compete for a general clearance assembly, which initiates its

work at 9 hours of the 2 day after the election, on site for the designated effect

by the civil governor or, in the Autonomous Regions, on site for the purpose designated by the

Representative of the Republic.

2. In the case of the circles of the voters resident abroad the operations referred to in the

previous Article number start at 9 pm 5 day after the election by gathering the

general clearance assemblies in place designated by the Ministry of Administration

Internal.

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Article 108.

[...]

1. [...]

2. In the clearance assemblies of the voters residing abroad the President

of the assembly is a judge of the Juízos Cables of the comarch of Lisbon; the two professors of

mathematics should teach in the Lisbon concelho and the chairs of the table are

replaced by voters nominated by the political parties with parliamentary seat.

3. [previous n. 2]

4. [previous n. 3].

5. [previous n. 4] "

Article 2.

Addition to Law No. 14/79 of May 16

They are deferred to Law No. 14/79 of May 16, with the amendments introduced by the Law No.

8/81, of June 15, by Law No. 28/82 of November 15 by Law No. 14-A/85, of

July 10, by the Decree-Law No. 55/88 of February 26, by Law No. 5/89, 17 of

March, by Law No. 18/90, of July 24, by Law No. 31/91 of July 20 by the Law

n ° 55/91 of August 10 by Law No. 72/93 of November 30 by Law No 10/95,

of April 7, by Law No. 35/95 of August 18, by the Organic Law No. 1/99, 22 of

June and by the Organic Law No. 2/2001 of August 25, Articles 40-42-A, 54.

A, 79 -D, 106.-A, 106.-B with the following wording:

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" Article 40º-A

Assembly of voting abroad

To each section or consular post corresponds to a voting assembly, proceeding

to the respective unfolding when there are enrolled more than 1000 voters.

Article 42º-A

Places of voting assembly abroad

They consist of polling stations:

a) At the posts and consular sections, in the external delegations of ministries and institutions

public Portuguese;

b) If strictly necessary, in other places where it is possible to secure the

oversight of election operations by delegates of at least two of the parties or

candidate coalitions.

Article 54º-A

Promotion and realisation of the election campaign abroad

1. The promotion and realisation of the election campaign in the constituencies of abroad

is made by the postal or electronic route and by any other authorized means, by the

countries where it takes place, to all competing political forces.

2. For the purposes of the realization of the campaign by the postal route, the political parties and

coalitions may obtain, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, copy of the

electoral notebooks in digital support.

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Article 79º-D

Mode of exercise of the right to vote in advance by voters displaced abroad

1. Any voter who is under the conditions laid down in Article 79º-A (2) may

exercise the right of suffrage between the 12º and the 10º days prior to the election, together with the

diplomatic, consular representations or in the external delegations of the ministries and

Portuguese public institutions previously defined by the Ministry of Business

Foreigners, in the terms provided for in Article 79º-B, being the intervention of the President

of the municipal chamber of competence of the diplomatic official designated for the

effect, to whom it is up to refer to the electoral correspondence by the most expedient route to the junta

respective freguesia.

2. In the case of the voters mentioned in points (a) and (b) of Article 70º-A (2), the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if it recognizes the impossibility of its

displacement to the places referred to in the preceding paragraph, designates an employee

diplomatic, which proceeds to the collection of the electoral correspondence, in the period above

referred to.

3. Election operations provided for in the preceding paragraphs may be audited by the

applications that nominate delegates until the 16º day before the election.

Article 106º-A

Partial clearance abroad

1. In the polling stations with more than 100 registered voters proceeds to the

clearance in the general terms.

2. In the polling stations with fewer than 100 registered voters, the ballot papers

are introduced in closed and sealed overwriting in the presence of the voters who

remain in the assembly.

3. In the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph, the superscripts, containing the ballot papers,

minutes of the operations and electoral notebooks, are sent immediately, by way

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diplomatic, to the nearest polling assembly that has more than 100 voters,

so that there will proceed to the counting by the respective table and with the presence of the delegates

of the candidates.

Article 106º-B

Intermediate clearance

1. In each consular district constitutes up to the forearm of the beginning of the vote a

intermediate clearance assembly, composed of the manager of the consular post or

manager of the consular section, who presides, a jurist and a sitting president of

voting for every 10000 voters, designated by the president, to which he competes to exercise the

functions assigned on the national territory to the district clearance assemblies.

2. These assemblies begin their work at 9 pm the day after the last day

of voting, in the building of the embassy or consulate, to where it is forwarded, by the via

more expedient, the electoral material to subject the appreciation.

3. The results are ascertained up to the 4 th day after the last day of voting, the

respective minutes immediately referred to the general clearance assembly.

4. For the purpose of compliance with the preceding paragraph, you may turn to the sending by

telecopy, when necessary. "

Article 3.

Repeal

The Decree-Law No 95-C/76 of January 30 shall be repealed with the amendments in it

introduced by Law No. 10/95 of April 7.

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Article 4.

Entry into force

This Law shall come into force on the day following that of its publication.

The Deputies,