There is not much doubt about the outcome of the November "elections" for the "National Assembly" in Portugal. Since the Fascist regime took power in 1926, there has not been a single genuine election in unhappy Portugal. The last "elections" for the National Assembly were held in 1951. Out of 8.5 million Portuguese, according to the 1953 census, 4,8 million, or 56% of the total were old enough to vote. But in a country where over 30% are illiterate, this proportion is disfranchised, except for a few who have some property. In addition only those women who have completed secondary or university education are allowed to vote, and these restrictions bring the number of possible voters down to about 2$ million. In fact, on the electoral roll there were only 1.3 million names, of 15% of the total population, compared with 68% in Britain.
The franchise is further reduced through the repressive measures of the government, Any person suspected of opposing _ the regime is crossed off the electoral register, The democratic opposition is not allowed a legal existence in Salazar's Portugal; no political parties are permitted except the Fascist "Unigo Nacional", The unorganised opposition is civen one month before the "elections" to draw up a programms and arrange meetings, Only 10 days were given this year to present the candidatess According to Decree Law 24,631, of 6/11/34, "persons who profess ideas which tend to promote the subversion of the fundamen+al institutions and principles of the society", that is, anybody whom Salazar or the PIDE (the political police in Portugal) consider dangerous to the regime, cannot be elected to the "National Assembly." Yet, despite all this, the Portuguese people have fought memorable battles in past"elections", taking all the opportunities that were offered to show their love of liberty, their hatred of the cruel regime of Salazar and PIDE and their desire for a better and happier life. In 1961, the democratic opposition again demanded that their voice should be !card, They sought minimum democratic safeguards such ass free inspection of the electoral roll in order to check who had been arbitrarily deleted or falsely registereds freedom of speech and meetings, and supervision by both sides of the actual poll, They drafted a detailed programme of democratic changes in the country that they sought to achieve and put forward 84 candidates - liberal, republican, monarchists, etc. = from all sections of the opposition in 10 electoral districts, Salazar's officials saw that thousands of democrats were deleted from the rolls. In Lisbon, the opposition list of candidates had to be voirafted 3 times due to objections by the authorities; the Monarchist iis1 was refused because it was presented 2 minutes after the deadlinc. in Ponta Delgada, in the Azores Islands, candidates were arrested. Hs!is snd rooms for meetings were refused to the democrats, due to pressure from ine authorities. Hundreds of people were arrested, Public demonstr:.tions were forbidden, but this did not prevent thousands of people cowl. on to the streets, all over the country to show their opposition to Fascism, In Lisbon great demonstrations took place on October 29th, and November 2nd and llth, In Almada, facing Lisbon, 20,000 people demonstrated on November 1lth and 14th resisting police brutalities and shooting. Faced with all kinds of irregularities and no satisfaction for their basic demands for fair elections the opposition withdrew just before the election. * Based upon an article in Portuguese and Colonial Bulletin (10, Fentiman Rd. London S.W. 8.)