The National Electoral Commission (CNE) has already made public in a 24-page notebook the notices and regulations prohibiting the practice of “actions” or “electoral propaganda activities in any way whatsoever (…) aimed directly or indirectly at promoting candidacies, whether from candidates, political parties, the heads of their bodies or their agents or from any other person, namely the publication of texts or images expressing or reproducing the content of that activity”. And it makes the ban clearly prohibits “any advertising in the premises of polling stations and up to a distance of 500 meters, including the display of symbols, acronyms, signs, badges or stickers of any lists”.
In the case of assisted voting, which is considered exceptional, “citizen voters affected by a notable illness or physical disability (…) can vote accompanied by another voter of their choice, who guarantees the faithful expression of their vote and which is obliged to absolute secrecy.” However, if there is any doubt about “the awareness of the disease or physical disability”, the voter must present a “certificate proving the impossibility of voting alone, issued by the municipal health representative or his legal substitute” The medical certificate can be obtained at the “relevant health center, which will be open on election day between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m..”
There is a caveat: the fact that the voter ‘simply claims that he cannot read or write [há 10 mil madeirenses nestas circunstâncias] or who is elderly [com 65 anos ou mais há mais de 50 mil pessoas] does not constitute a basis for exercising guided voting.”
And then there are the ‘transports’ to vote. The CNE states that these are “exceptional situations” that require “special public transport”, as long as there are “significant distances between the voters’ place of residence and the place where they exercise their right to vote, without any means of transport that make this possible”. to ensure minimum accessibility requirements or where there are special needs due to voters’ mobility problems”.
And the warning? “Any form of action, negative or positive, which aims to restrict or induce voters to vote in a certain way or to abstain from voting, is punishable as a crime of a criminal nature.”
Another warning: not everyone can be present at the polling stations. And so it is clear that “the presence of citizens in polling stations where they cannot vote is prohibited, neither during the voting period nor during counting operations, except in the case of candidates and representatives or deputies of the lists” .
30%
Poverty. One in four residents of Madeira is at risk of poverty (living on less than 551 euros per month), 2.9% of the population receives a social income: 53% are women, 35% are under 25 years old and 27% are 55 years or older .
14.7%
Build. It is the weight of the construction sector in Madeira’s regional economy [é de 8% a nível nacional]. Accommodation and restaurants represented 13.4%, a figure higher than the national average by 9.3 percentage points.
10 million
Tourism. In 2022, there were 8.4 million tourist overnight stays, which represents a growth of 12.4% compared to 2019. Tourist accommodation represents 5.5% of the national total. By 2023, this number could reach 10 million.
4.5%
Read and write. This is the illiteracy rate, the second highest in the country [a primeira pertence ao Alentejo]. The national average is 3.1%. The percentage of early school leavers (10.6%) is also higher than the national average (5.9%).
17.5%
Course. The education level is lower than
the national average: 17.5% have higher education (24.5% nationwide) and 21.7% of the population have had up to four years of education (19% nationally).
27%
Aging. The share of young people and children under the age of 15 is lower than the national average and has decreased by 27% in ten years, while the elderly population has increased and all municipalities in the region now have more elderly people than young people.
Source: DN
