The President of the Republic suggested this Monday to the parties that they consider an amendment of the law so that the legislative elections are held normally in May or June, to avoid delays in the entry into force of the State Budget.
“The parties will have to think about the possibility that the legislature ends before the summer, in such a way that the elections are not in October, but are before, in May or June, because that will have an approved Budget in time to enter into force in the January 1st of the following year ”, declared Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The head of state took this position in statements to journalists during the opening of an exhibition by the painter Paula Rego at the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic, in Lisbon, regarding the ongoing debate in the parliament of the State Budget for 2020, which according to his estimate will only come into force “at the end of March”.
“One day later the parties will have to think about it. I do not know if it is necessary to change the Constitution, if it is only necessary to change the law “, observed the President of the Republic, noting that, currently,” every time there are elections in October, it remains for six months, at least, without a Budget and working with twelfths from the previous year.
The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic states that “the legislative session lasts for one year and begins on September 15” and that “the legislature lasts for four legislative sessions”.
The electoral law for the Assembly of the Republic stipulates that legislative elections are held “between the 14th of September and the 14th of October”.
“With elections in October, there will never be a budget before February, March. Four years ago it was in late March, I don’t know if it was in April, and the budget execution decree-law comes into force three months later. Therefore, it is not possible to execute the Budget practically until two thirds of the year, or more than half of the year ”, reinforced the head of State.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that there are those who can see this as “an advantage, which is to save State expenses”, through “a form of captivation without being captivation”.
“But it is not very normal for the Budget not to coincide with the year for which it should be in force”, he considered.
Asked if he would like to see this change be made in the current legislature, the President of the Republic replied: “I don’t know, that is the parties that have to appreciate this. As you know, my term of office runs until March 9th of next year. Will they change that or not? ”.
“I think it was a good tone to think about this situation, because every four years the same situation happens”, he defended.
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