Compliance degree with the Right of Opposition in Portuguese Municipalities in a Pandemic Period – COVID-19

The particular case of the CIM municipalities of Alto Tâmega

Abstract

The Statute governing the Right of Opposition was approved by Law No. 24/98 of May 26, 1998. The "Right of opposition," which states that "Minorities shall be ensured the right to constitute and engage in a democratic opposition to the Government and to the executive bodies of the Autonomous Regions and of local authorities of a representative nature, as laid down by the Constitution or the law" shall be applied as a general law of the Portuguese Republic, according to articles 114, 161, subparagraph c), 164, subparagraph h), and 166, paragraph 3, and article 112, no. 5 of the Constitution. Alongside our investigation, the data obtained reveal that the municipalities of the CIM-AT[1] must assume a more proactive stance that fulfills and enforces, in all its dimensions, the provisions of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic CRP, and the legal provisions of the Statute of Right of Opposition that certify their right of opposition. This issue raises doubts about the importance of the Statute of Right of Opposition by the opponents, as there are weaknesses in its municipal impact, in view of the interest for democracy, seeming to be seen more as a matter of legal imposition than an instrument with formative and development dimensions. Such a change will be necessary, as according to Almeida & Sousa (2019, p.527) “practice has already demonstrated, namely with regard to the possibility of preparing the report by the opposition forces, provided for in the 1977 law and withdrawn in 1998, that this posture is fundamental for the good of democracy since in terms of the right of opposition, the corollary seems to hold: right not taken care of runs the risk of being right withdrawn”.