Azores. Opinion on cumulation of functions closed

An opinion released by the Azorean parliament concludes that there is no incompatibility in the accumulation of functions of deputy Dora Valadão (PS), who is also a councilor and vice-president of the Municipal Council of Santa Cruz das Flores.

“There is, therefore, no incompatibility in the exercise of the position of deputy to the Legislative Assembly of the Azores with the position of councilor on a non-permanent basis, even if she was appointed as vice-president, carrying out administrative acts only on a substitute basis”, states the legal opinion, prepared by the Law Firm Borges da Ponte, Linhares Dias e Associados, and released this Monday.

The opinion, requested by MP Dora Valadão, elected on the PS lists for the island of Flores, comes following doubts raised by Flávio Soares, president of the Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Environment and Sustainable Development (CAPADS), who recalled that the Political Administrative Statute of the Azores considers that “the accumulation of the role of deputy with those of president and councilor, full-time or part-time, in a municipal council is incompatible”.

The author of the opinion, Paulo Linhares Dias, PhD in Public Law and professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, recalls that Dora Valadão is a councilor in the municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores “on a non-permanent basis” and without “remunerative status” and only entitled to attendance fees for the meetings in which she participates, therefore having no other link with the municipality.

"There is no doubt as to who is entitled to receive what, based on the distinction between those who receive a salary and those who receive only attendance fees. The latter constitute a non-remunerative status, placing the holder on a non-permanent basis, in no way rendering the duties of a councilor incompatible with those of a member of the Regional Assembly," the aforementioned opinion states.

In addition to commenting on the matter at hand, the legal opinion now released also calls into question the legitimacy of the president of CAPADS, the social democrat Flávio Soares, to doubt the alleged incompatibility of the socialist deputy, concluding that the PSD deputy “does not have procedural powers” to demand clarifications from Dora Valadão.

Flávio Soares has already sent a copy of the opinion to the members of the parliamentary committee, which will now have to meet to pronounce itself on this case.

It should be remembered that the socialist deputy had already stated, in statements to Lusa, that her case did not constitute any incompatibility: “honestly, I think we are not facing an incompatibility, for the simple reason that I am a councilor on a non-permanent basis, and like me, there are other colleagues who are in the same situations.

In addition to being a councilor and vice-president of the Chamber, the Socialist Party deputy was also authorized to replace the mayor, José Carlos Mendes, as well as assume several other responsibilities, such as executing works, authorizing the payment of expenses, signing contracts and even preparing delegation of powers contracts.

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