Câmara municipal
Acâmara municipal(Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈkɐmɐɾɐmunisiˈpal],meaning literallymunicipal chamberand often referred ascâmara de vereadoresor simply ascâmara) is a type ofmunicipal governing body,existing in several countries of theCommunity of Portuguese Language Countries.
InPortugal,Cape Verde,Guinea BissauandTimor-Leste,acâmara municipalis theexecutive bodyof amunicipality.InBrazil,it is thelegislatureof a municipality.São Tome and Príncipehas similarcâmaras distritais(district chambers), which are the executive bodies of the districts (municipalities).
In all these countries, the members of acâmaraare known asvereadores(aldermen).
Brazil[edit]
The Braziliancâmaras municipaisorcâmaras de vereadoreshave their origin in the municipal administration model inherited from Portugal. However, while the Portuguesecâmarasevolved towards becoming executive bodies, in Brazil they evolved towards becoming thelegislative bodiesof themunicipalities,especially after the creation of theprefeituras municipais(municipalprefectures) in the 1930s. In Brazil, the executive municipal power is now vested in theprefeituras municipais,each headed by theprefeito(mayor).
Eachcâmarais composed of a number of electedvereadores.
Portugal[edit]
Its members (vereadores,aldermen) are elected by theHondt method,serve year-round and are paid.The president of a Municipal Chamberis the head of the most-voted list. TheCâmara Municipalhas an odd number of aldermen (from five to thirteen), determined by the number of registered voters within the municipality, with the exceptions ofLisbon(fixed at 17 aldermen) andPorto(15 aldermen).
The term can also refer to the building where the Municipal Chamber offices are located, i.e., theCity Hall,although it is more properly termedPaços do Concelho(literally, the "Palace of theConcelho").
A Câmara municipal is anexecutivebody of a municipal, a level higher than theJunta de freguesia. Thelegislatureequivalent of Câmara municipal is theAssembleia Municipal.
See also[edit]
- Assembleia Municipal
- Assembleia de freguesia
- Junta de freguesia
- List of municipalities of Portugal
- Portuguese local election, 2005
References[edit]
- PORTUGAL: a country study,Federal Research Division, Library of Congress; Edited by Eric Solsten (public domain)
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