Publicação
Portugal: elections and voting in a dual-tier, local government system
| Resumo: | [Excerpt] In Portugal, the local government system can be characterized as a dual-tier system that includes both a municipal and a submunicipal level. This system is protected under Article 236 of the Portuguese Constitution, which establishes two categories of local government: municipali ties ( municípios ) and parishes ( freguesias ). Both types of local government operate with elected executives and deliberative decision-making bodies and possess fi nancial and administrative autonomy. The literature is consensual in placing Portugal in the group of countries following a strong mayor tradition (Heinelt & Hlepas 2006; Magre & Bertrana 2007 ), where the mayor represents the interests of the community. While not included in the original Page and Gold smith (1987) typology, Portugal is often referred to as a variant of the southern model (John 2001). Despite being described as possessing high political discretion and medium financial autonomy ( Ladner et al. 2019 ), municipalities and parishes are only responsible for about 9.6% of all public expenditures, which places Portugal as one of the most centralized countries in the European Union (DGO 2018). The unique nature of the Portuguese system requires a brief description of both levels and their implications for local elections. |
|---|---|
| Autores principais: | Tavares, António F. |
| Outros Autores: | Camões, Pedro J. |
| Assunto: | Ciências Sociais::Ciências Políticas |
| Ano: | 2022 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | capítulo de livro |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso restrito |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade do Minho |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Resumo: | [Excerpt] In Portugal, the local government system can be characterized as a dual-tier system that includes both a municipal and a submunicipal level. This system is protected under Article 236 of the Portuguese Constitution, which establishes two categories of local government: municipali ties ( municípios ) and parishes ( freguesias ). Both types of local government operate with elected executives and deliberative decision-making bodies and possess fi nancial and administrative autonomy. The literature is consensual in placing Portugal in the group of countries following a strong mayor tradition (Heinelt & Hlepas 2006; Magre & Bertrana 2007 ), where the mayor represents the interests of the community. While not included in the original Page and Gold smith (1987) typology, Portugal is often referred to as a variant of the southern model (John 2001). Despite being described as possessing high political discretion and medium financial autonomy ( Ladner et al. 2019 ), municipalities and parishes are only responsible for about 9.6% of all public expenditures, which places Portugal as one of the most centralized countries in the European Union (DGO 2018). The unique nature of the Portuguese system requires a brief description of both levels and their implications for local elections. |
|---|