1 - What are the complementary elections of the Order of Physiotherapists?
The supplementary elections are intended to elect bodies of the Order of Physiotherapists that were not constituted in the election held on 5 December 2025, because no nominations were accepted, in accordance with the Statute and the Electoral Regulations.
2 - Which bodies are covered by this supplementary electoral act?
The following regional bodies are exclusively covered:
- Madeira Regional Directorate
- Bureau of the Southern Regional Assembly
3 - Who has the right to vote in this election?
Physiotherapists who meet the requirements set out in the Electoral Regulations and who appear on the electoral roll drawn up for this supplementary electoral act, and who have not been in arrears with their membership fees for more than six months at the legally relevant date, are eligible to vote.
4 - How do you define the regional allocation of voters?
Each voter votes in the region corresponding to their main professional domicile, as recorded in the registration system of the Order of Physiotherapists.
5 - What rules apply to this electoral process?
The complementary electoral process is governed by the Statute of the Order of Physiotherapists and the Electoral Regulations in force, available for consultation on the Order's website.
6 - How is the Electoral Commission set up?
The Electoral Commission is made up of the chairman of the General Council and a representative from each of the lists admitted to the vote, to be appointed when the respective nominations are submitted.
7 - What powers does the Electoral Commission have?
The Electoral Commission is responsible for:
- Receiving and admitting applications;
- Guaranteeing the impartiality and impartiality of the electoral process;
- Supervising the electoral process and resolving any issues arising from it;
- Managing the timing of the campaign media made available;
- Carrying out the tabulation of election results;
- Decide on appeals submitted within the framework of the electoral process.
8 - How can applications be submitted?
Nominations must be submitted to the Electoral Commission by the deadlines set in the electoral calendar for the supplementary elections, using the forms available on the Order's website.
Delivery can be made by:
- Hand delivery
- By post
Under the terms and conditions indicated on the elections page.
9 - How many subscribers are needed to submit an application?
Each list of candidates for regional bodies must be endorsed by 30 physiotherapists, The rules of the Parity Law (Law 26/2019 of 28 March) also apply.
10 - Who checks that the applications are in order?
The Electoral Commission will check that candidatures are in order within the time limits laid down in the Electoral Regulations. In the event of an irregularity, the representative of the list will be notified to correct it within the legal deadline.
11 - How is the election campaign going?
The election campaign runs from 3rd May 2026 and the day 16th May 2026 ending at 11.59pm on the day before Election Day.
12 - What support is available to candidate lists?
During the electoral campaign period, the Order of Physiotherapists provides the candidate lists with institutional means of promoting their proposals and interacting with voters, under the terms of the Statute, the Electoral Regulations and the Board's decision, namely:
a) Dissemination by e-mail
- Each candidate list can send up to two e-mails to voters, to be publicised through the Order's official channels;
- Messages should be sent to in HTML format to the address eleicoes@ordemdosfisioterapeutas.pt, with clear identification of the sender list;
- The timetable for sending messages will be defined and managed by Electoral Commission, taking into account the order in which the messages were received and the legal campaign period;
- Responses to contacts received at the above address will be provided by the Order's services on working days, between 09.00 and 18.00;
- No direct contact details of members will be made available, nor sent out SMS or MMS on behalf of the lists.
b) Publicising on the institutional website
- At the request of the candidate lists, the following may be published links on the Order's website that redirect to the official pages of the respective candidacies;
- The links are intended solely to identify the applications and do not constitute validation or institutional support for them.
c) Occasional use of the Order's facilities
- The Bar Association can provide a room with capacity up to 6 people, upon prior request;
- The request must be sent with 48 hours in advance to the e-mail address eleicoes@ordemdosfisioterapeutas.pt;
- The organisation's services will respond to the request within 24 hours;
- The space will be available on working days, between 09.00 and 18.00;
- In the event of overlapping requests and no agreement between the lists, use of the facilities will be awarded to the list whose request was received first, with the other list proposing an alternative date.
d) Financial charges
- Under the terms of Article 49(2) of the Statute of the Order of Physiotherapists, the Order will not contribute to the costs of election campaigns, as was the case in previous elections.
13 - How does voting work?
Voting will be exclusively electronic, through access to a secure platform. The Order will send credentials by e-mail and SMS in the days before the vote. This electronic vote can be cast remotely, using a device with internet access, or in person, at the premises of the Order of Physiotherapists (Rua D. João V, n.º 24 - 1.06, 1250-091 Lisboa), between 10am and 7pm, with digital accreditation.