Isaltino Morais to face trial over irregular appointments in Oeiras

Isaltino Morais, the President of the Oeiras Municipality, will face trial at the Court of Auditors (Tribunal de Contas) regarding the irregular appointment of dozens of officials. An audit revealed that 49 managers were appointed under a substitution regime, significantly exceeding the legal three-month limit intended for temporary vacancies.

The municipality currently has 58 officials in this substitution status, some of whom have held their positions for years without public competitions being opened. The Court of Auditors denied Morais's request to waive financial responsibility, citing the scale of the alleged illegality, which has reportedly persisted since 2018. Morais had previously refused to pay a 2,550 euro fine to resolve the matter.

Local authorities have defended the practice, claiming that some public competitions end up deserted, forcing the municipality to maintain substitute managers to prevent operational paralysis. However, the audit also identified instances where the curricula of appointees were not published in the Diário da República, constituting a legal infraction.