The National Elections Commission (CNE) urged the mayor of Lisbon (CML), Carlos Moedas, to, within 48 hours, "promote the concealment or removal of posters with institutional advertising messages, under penalty of committing the crime of disobedience", in an opinion cited by CNN Portugal.

The CNE also opted to "warn the mayor of Lisbon to abstain from practicing any actions that could constitute prohibited institutional advertising until the end of the electoral process".

At issue are three posters, alluding to the Housing and Health sectors.

"Are you over 65? Do you need a doctor? Free. Every day. 24 hours. Lisbon has it", one of them reads. The other two posters say: "Lisbon helps pay your rent. Learn about the programs and apply".

Two complaints were made against the Lisbon city council, regarding institutional advertising, which is prohibited during the electoral process for the election of Members of the European Parliament.

The same media outlet quotes the CNE to explain that, from the moment the decree setting the elections is published, entities, including the CML, are prohibited from making certain types of advertising. This is to ensure that "the duties of neutrality and impartiality" are fulfilled.

Posters "are part of a municipal information plan"

The posters in question "are part of a municipal information plan", Carlos Moedas replied to the CNE, stating that "withdrawing municipal information from the population violates the law and undermines the most basic principles of administrative activity and the pursuit of the public interest of transparency, by which the Municipality of Lisbon is governed".

The commission responsible for the national elections considered, however, that the content of the posters is not merely informative.

"The posters contain phrases that allow for the transmission of a positive view of the action developed by the local authority. The content of the posters allows us to understand that the intention inherent in their publication is not to objectively inform the population about access to the measures, but rather to praise the work developed – note that the phrases that convey a positive view of the measures are prominently highlighted in relation to the others that aim to convey to the population how they can access them", the document states.

According to the same television channel, the mayor has already been notified of the decision and now has one day to appeal the CNE's decision to the Constitutional Court.

Read Also: Moedas says he will also be a councilor for Culture "with great commitment" (Portuguese version)