It is a letter, signed by Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé (PS), was sent with the bill of light, distributed from May to June 26, and makes an assessment of what the mandate was, but also some promises.
The situation, in a pre-election period, was denounced by the PSD of Loulé, which accuses Vítor Aleixo of "a shameless exercise in electoral propaganda". The mayor defends itself, saying that the letter was sent "in the context of the Week of the Municipality", celebrated from 20th to 28th of May.
At issue, there is a «position of advantage, in relation to other candidacies, making use of means that are not available to the other candidates», claims the PSD.
In this letter, the Sul Informação had access, for example: «building the future is having balanced municipal accounts and sharing the results achieved with people, families and companies, through the reduction of local taxes or attention to economic and social dynamics».
In another paragraph, it is also stated that, «on the occasion of the Week of the Municipality, we reaffirm our commitment to implementing policies for those who live, work or visit us here and to prepare our territory to continue to be a reference municipality in the Algarve, in Portugal and abroad».
Now, the decree-law that sets the Local Elections for October 1st was published on May 12th. According to the National Elections Commission (CNE), since that date, "public entities, namely the bodies of local authorities and their respective holders, are subject to special duties of neutrality and impartiality".
And what does this mean? That "they may not intervene, directly or indirectly, in the electoral campaign, nor perform acts that, in any way, favor or harm a candidate or a proposing entity to the detriment or advantage of another, and must ensure equal treatment and impartiality in any intervention in the exercise of its functions, namely in the electoral procedures», explains the CNE.
Contacted by Sul Informação, Vítor Aleixo understands that “there is no conflict here”. This was "one, among other easy means, that we have to communicate and report the activity of the Municipality to citizens," he added.
The letter “was sent in accordance with the specific water billing device”, which, according to Vítor Aleixo, means that it has reached the residents' homes in stages.
«None of this is new: we did this four times, always once a year», explained the mayor. In fact, "other executives, in previous terms, did the same," he added.
José Graça, PSD candidate for the Chamber of Loulé, told the Sul Informação that the content of the letter is "clearly from an electoral campaign" and that it constitutes "unfair competition with all other candidates".
The former vice-president of the Loulé local government revealed that "we are studying whether to take the matter to the CNE". José Graça also considers that this situation is «on the same level as what happened in Vila Real de Santo António», which involved advertising posters.
For Vítor Aleixo, the PSD wants to “fix the subject of an electoral campaign”. "This controversy certainly does not interest Louléans," he concluded.
Click here if you want to know the letter.
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