Almost three months after the announcement, Parliament will actually implement the ‘traffic light’ system capable of limiting the intervention times of deputies, a proposal from the president of the Assembly of the Republic and the rest of the board. José Pedro Aguiar-Branco announced in the debate on immigration this Thursday, the 27th, that the system will be tested, for the first time, in the plenary tomorrow, the 28th.
For now, the test will only include the light system, which will vary between green, yellow and red depending on the intervention time available for each of the deputies. Consequently, mute after red light will not be in effect yet.
“The only part that is not included in the test is the automatic cutting of the word, but the lights could be a first test for each deputy to get used to managing the intervention according to the system†€, announced the president of the Assembly of the Republic before ending Thursday’s debate. By the end of this legislative session, which ends at the end of July, Aguiar-Branco hopes that there will be a second test with the “complete systemâ€. In this way, the social democrat’s conviction is that the system can be fully implemented at the start of the next legislative session, in September.
Faced with the announcement, the Secretary of State for Inclusion of the previous socialist executive, Ana Sofia Antunes, warned of her blind condition. Regarding this issue, Aguiar-Branco assured that the AR table will “pay attention” to the deputy and that the adaptation of a sound signal that resolves the issue is “under study”. issue in question.
Ana Baiao
It is system was approved at the Leaders Conference, at the beginning of April, to ensure compliance with the stipulated time grid. The light system provides that, when the deputies are 30 seconds away from the expiry of the time for their interventions, a yellow light will come on, which will turn red as soon as the time is up. After 15 seconds, the microphones will be muted.
The proposal materializes at a time when debates have become increasingly inflamed with several protests and interruptions by Chega’s bench, especially on immigration issues. Aguiar-Branco has shown some frustration in the failed attempts to calm tempers – in the debate on immigration, on the 19th, the president of the AR complained of being left “voiceless†to try to restore order in the plenary. Now, the ‘traffic light’ system could be a valuable help for the work of the AR table.
