Every time elections take place in Portugal, a different count begins, not of votes, but of the number of weeks (sometimes months) in which hundreds of posters and posters from the different political parties remain abandoned in the public space without being removed, since there is no deadline for their removal.
Many of them are already in poor condition, having been torn by the wind or because the metal structures on which they were displayed can no longer support their weight, and the “leftovers” from the elections invade the city with a visual pollution that no one can stand.
Fed up with these dilapidated scenes, a group of Lisbon citizens and voters decided to take action by submitting a petition (in the form of a petition) to the Municipal Assembly with the aim of putting an end to this problem whenever elections are held in our country.
The non-existent law that allows abandonment
According to Associação Vizinhos em Lisboa, the problem lies in the lack of clear rules, since there are no express deadlines for this political campaign material to be removed once the elections are over.
Although national law (Law 97/88) empowers local councils to define these conditions, the Lisbon municipality never enforces it, thus allowing situations of abuse and non-compliance on the part of the various political parties, resulting in a clear degradation of the urban environment, a devaluation of public space and, often, creating safety risks.
10 days to clean up
The solution put forward by this group of petition signatories is straightforward and easy to monitor: they propose that the Municipal Assembly recommend that Lisbon City Council amend the regulation with new rules:
- Set a maximum deadline: all electoral propaganda, regardless of the medium (posters, banners, tarpaulins, structures), must be removed from the public space no later than 10 days after the election;
- Defining responsibilities: the obligation to remove falls to the political entities, candidates or representatives who promoted the display;
- The consequences: if the 10-day deadline is exceeded, Lisbon City Council must proceed with the forced removal, submitting a bill for the costs to those responsible. In addition, the fines already provided for by law must be applied .
Respect for the common space
The objectives of this petition are clear and go far beyond simply cleaning the streets: they also argue that this measure is essential to guarantee urban order, holding those who use public space for political purposes accountable and preventing the capital from being held hostage by “electoral garbage” weeks after voters have exercised their right.
The petitioners now have to wait for the Lisbon Municipal Assembly to decide whether or not to recommend a change to the regulation to the City Council.
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