Fraud Allegations Cast Doubt on Lisbon's Local Housing Referendum Validity

Allegations of Fraud in Lisbon's Housing Referendum

The Lisbon Municipal Assembly has approved the submission of a popular initiative to the Constitutional Court regarding a local referendum aimed at ending short-term rentals in residential buildings. However, troubling fraud allegations have emerged, currently under investigation by the Ministry of Internal Administration.

A total of 6,600 signatures were collected to validate the referendum, surpassing the required 5,000. Yet, suspicions have arisen concerning 240 signatories who allegedly signed multiple times, 12 deceased individuals, 843 who are not registered in Lisbon, and 570 unidentified signers. After accounting for these dubious cases, the valid signatures drop to 4,863, falling short of the legal requirements needed for the referendum to proceed.

The Municipal Assembly requested an administrative verification from the Ministry last month. This scrutiny comes after the initiative received support from parties such as Bloco de Esquerda, PAN, PEV, PS, Livre, and independent deputies from Cidadãos por Lisboa. Following the assembly's vote, the referendum required only the Constitutional Court's approval to advance, a possibility now jeopardized by the alleged insufficiency of legitimate signatures.

Teresa Mamede, representing the “Referendum p’la Habitação” movement, expressed that the presence of deceased signatories is not surprising, noting that they collected signatures from elderly individuals. She explained that the number of individuals not currently registered in Lisbon reflects the reality of people being displaced from the city during the signature collection period. Additionally, she mentioned that human error is inevitable in a process conducted manually, leading to some illegible handwriting among the signatories.

Summary of Allegations

• Over 1,400 signatures under suspicion, including deceased individuals and those not registered in Lisbon.
• Valid signatures reduced to 4,863, below the required threshold for the referendum.
• The Constitutional Court's approval now uncertain due to potential signature validity issues.
• Concerns raised about the accuracy of manual signature collection due to human error and illegible handwriting.