The democratic organisation of the state at local level shall be structured on the basis of the principle of political and administrative decentralisation, which shall include forms of local government organisation, under the terms of this Constitution.
The forms of local government organisation shall include local authorities, the institutions of the traditional authorities and other specific forms of citizen participation, under the terms of the law.
Article 214. (Principle of local autonomy)
Local autonomy shall include the right and effective capacity of the local authorities to manage and issue regulations for local public matters, under the terms of the Constitution and the law, on their own account and in the interests of the respective local populations.
The right referred to in the previous point shall be exercised by the local authorities, under the terms of the law.
Article 215. (Scope of local autonomy)
The financial resources of local authorities must be proportional to the responsibilities prescribed in the Constitution or by law and to the development programmes that have been approved.
It shall be established by law that part of local authority financial resources must come from local revenue and taxes.
Article 216. (Local authority guarantees)
Local authorities shall have the right to lodge a legal appeal to ensure the free exercise of their duties and respect for the principles of local autonomy enshrined in the Constitution or in law.
CHAPTER II. LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Article 217. (Local authorities)
Local authorities shall be corporate territorial bodies corresponding to groupings of residents in certain divisions of national territory which shall ensure and pursue the specific interests of the local area through their own bodies, representing the respective local populations.
The organisation and functioning of the local authorities and the responsibilities of their bodies shall be regulated by law, in accordance with the principle of administrative decentralisation.
The law shall define local authority assets and shall establish a system for local finance with the aim of ensuring that public resources are shared fairly between the state and the local authorities, inequalities amongst local authorities are corrected as necessary, the revenue is appropriately collected and spending limits are adhered to.
Local authorities shall enjoy their own regulatory powers, under the terms of the law.
Article 218. (Categories of local authority)
Local authorities shall be organised into municipalities.
Local authorities may be created at supra-municipal level, taking specific cultural and historical features and levels of development into consideration.
The law may also establish, in accordance with specific conditions, other infra-municipal scales for the territorial organization of autonomous local government.
Article 219. (Responsibilities)
Under the terms of the law, local authorities shall have responsibilities in the spheres of education, health, energy, water, rural and urban facilities, heritage, culture and science, transport and communications, leisure time and sporting activities, housing, social services, civil defence, the environment and basic sanitation, consumer rights, the promotion of economic and social development, town and country planning, the municipal police force, decentralised cooperation and twinning.
Article 220. (Local authority bodies)
Local authority organisations shall comprise an Assembly with decision making powers, a collegiate executive body and a President.
The Assembly shall be composted of local representatives elected by the universal, equal, free, direct, secret and periodic suffrage of the citizens who comprise the electorate in the respective local authority area, in accordance with the system of proportional representation.
The collegiate executive body shall be composed of a President and the secretaries he appoints, all of whom shall be accountable to the local government Assembly.
The Chair of the local authority executive body shall be the first candidate on the list that received the most votes for the Assembly.
Nominations for election to local authority bodies may be submitted by political parties, either individually or as coalitions, or by groups of registered electors, under the terms of the law. (Projects B and C – approved by consensus)
Article 221. (Administrative supervision)
Local authorities shall be subject to administrative supervision by the Executive.
The administrative supervision of local authorities shall consist of verification of the compliance of local authority bodies with the law and shall be exercised under the terms of the law.
Local authority bodies, even if elected, may only be dissolved for serious illegal acts or omissions.
Local authorities may legally challenge any illegalities committed by the supervisory body in the exercise of its supervisory powers.
Article 222. (Solidarity and cooperation)
With encouragement from the state, local authorities must promote solidarity with each other on the basis of their specific characteristics, with the aim of reducing local and regional imbalances and imbalances in national development.
The law shall guarantee the forms of cooperation and organisation which local authorities may adopt in order to pursue common interests, which shall be endowed with their own attributions and responsibilities.
CHAPTER III. INSTITUTIONS OF THE TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES
Article 223. (Recognition)
The state shall recognise the status, role and functions of the institutions of the traditional authorities founded in accordance with customary law which do not contradict the Constitution.
Recognition of the institutions of the traditional authorities shall oblige public and private entities to respect, in their relations with these institutions, the values and norms of customary law that are observed within traditional political and community organisations and do not conflict with the Constitution or the dignity of the human person.
Article 224. (Traditional authorities)
The traditional authorities shall be the entities which personify and exercise power within the respective political and community organisations, in accordance with the values and norms of customary law and respecting the Constitution and the law.
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Article 225. (Attributions, responsibilities and organisation)
The attributions, responsibilities, organisation, system of control, liability and assets of the institutions of the traditional authorities, their institutional relations with state local administration and local authority administration bodies and the types of traditional authorities shall be regulated by law.
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