Recall
The residents of a district may remove the member they elected, before the end of the term.
Article 128(1): the residents of a district may recall a member they have elected.
Article 128(2): a petition is opened upon the signatures of five per cent of the residents registered in the district, collected within ninety days, and no petition is opened in the first year of a term or in the last six months of it.
Article 128(3): the member is removed where a majority of the votes cast is in favour and where those votes exceed one quarter of the residents registered in the district.
Article 128(4): participation in the vote in no case conditions its validity beyond that requirement.
Register of recalls
| District | Vote held | Signatures | Outcome | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durorilaqui | 12 May 2026 | 6.1% | Failed | Votes in favour did not exceed one quarter of the registered residents of the district. |
| Cortius | 8 February 2026 | 7.4% | Carried | Member removed. By-election held 22 March 2026. |
| Sornorum | 19 October 2025 | 5.2% | Petition lapsed | Signatures not collected within the ninety days allowed. |
The two conditions
A recall carries only where both conditions of Article 128(3) are met: a majority of the votes cast, and those votes exceeding one quarter of the registered residents. The Durorilaqui petition of May 2026 obtained a majority of the votes cast and failed the second condition.
The second condition fixes no turnout requirement of its own, so a vote is valid whatever the participation, and the threshold operates on the votes in favour alone.
Windows
No petition opens in the first year of a term or in the last six months of it. The first window protects a newly elected member from an immediate second contest, and the second leaves the ordinary election to settle a term nearing its end.
Conduct of the vote
The Electoral Commission conducts the recall. Ballots are on paper, counted by hand and in public, and electronic means are admitted in no case for such a procedure.
Disputes about a recall are decided by the Commission in the first instance under Article 248(1), with an appeal to the Constitutional Court.
Recall elsewhere in the Constitution
| Who may be recalled | By whom | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| A member of the Assembly | The residents of the district | Article 128 |
| A member of a communal council | The residents of the commune | Article 141(3) |
| A delegate to the National Planning Congress | The body that sent the delegate | Article 96(3) |
| A member of an executive committee | The Assembly, by motion | Article 150 |
| The Presiding Officer | The Assembly, at any time, by a majority of its members | Article 146(2) |