The NGO International Transparency released a statement with criticism of the project that flexes the Clean Record Law and eight years. According to the organization, the text represents a setback for efforts to combat corruption and prevent the infiltration of organized crime in Brazilian elections.
Approved on the same day as the Federal Supreme Court (STF), the proposal provides for changes in parts of the law to reduce the period during which politicians who were convicted or had the revoked mandates run out of rights. The text now goes to the sanction or veto of the President of the Republic.
According to international transparency, the project increases the risks of infiltration of organized crime in the elections by enabling applications, in a shorter deadline, of people who were convicted of connections with organized crime and other serious offenses.
“The 2024 elections were marked by the infiltration of criminal organizations such as the CCP and the CV in city halls and councilors throughout Brazil. Whether for illegal funding or facade candidates, organized crime has advanced on democratic institutions and it is a high risk that this is repeated in state and federal scenarios,” says an excerpt from the statement.
Also according to the organization, the weakening of the Clean Record Law contradicts public opinion, which would be “widely favorable to the preservation” of the text. The organization mentions a survey released by Atlasintel in February this year, according to which 83% of respondents manifested contrary to the reduction of the ineligibility period for politicians under this legislation.
International transparency also states that the law is one of the greatest achievements of Brazilian society in the National Congress. “His approval was the result of the population’s legitimate desire to prevent corrupt and criminals from returning to power to power,” he says.
Currently, although the current legislation already determines ineligibility for eight years, in many cases the penalty only counts after the final judgment of the proceedings or after the end of the term in which the abusive practice occurred. Thus, the condemnation leaves the politician out of dispute for two elections for the House or Senate, for example.
The approved project provides for the anticipation of this count for diploma. With this, even if it is eight years ineligible, a politician would lose the chance only to run for an election to the House or Senate, not two.
In addition to changing the start of counting, the proposal limits the ineligibility to 12 years if there is more than one conviction.
The bill was presented by federal deputy Dani Cunha (União Brasil-RJ), daughter of Eduardo Cunha (Republicans-RJ), and approved by the Chamber the touch of cash in September last year.
Cunha has been ineligible since 2016, when he had his mandate revoked by the House plenary for lying about his bank accounts abroad. If the law is sanctioned by the president, it is expected that he is able to dispute the 2026 elections.
Despite the flexibility, rapporteur Weverton (PDT-MA) changed an excerpt that could benefit former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) (Superior Electoral Court) for the practice of abuse of political power in the case of; and economic, by, on September 7, 2022.
