The (Attorney General’s Office) took a stance this Wednesday (25) against the rules of the minister, of the (Federal Supreme Court), for holding indirect elections for the position of governor of the .
The Attorney General of the Republic, , defended the rules that had been approved by the Alerj (Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro) which provided for a deadline for non-compatibilization of one day after the double vacancy of the positions of governor and deputy, and the holding of the election with an open vote between state and state deputies.
The two rules were provided for in state law, but were revoked in an injunction by Fux, last week, at the request of the PSD, the acronym of the former mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), pre-candidate for the Rio de Janeiro government in the October election.
Fux asked the president of the STF, Edson Fachin, for the topic to be discussed in an extraordinary virtual session starting this Wednesday and ending on Friday (27).
The PGR stated that the reduction in the non-compliance period combines electoral rules with the holding of an election not foreseen in the electoral calendar.
“The deadline of 24 [horas] between the second vacancy and the lack of compatibility is the result of the balancing, by the local legislator, between the need to preserve the mandate of ‘abuse of the exercise of function, position or employment in direct or indirect administration’, and the unpredictable absence of a successor to the positions of governor and vice-governor. Weighting appropriately balances such vectors,” Gonet wrote.
Last week, Fux revoked this item of the law because he considered that previous STF decisions on indirect elections determined respect for ineligibility rules, including the minimum period of six months for disqualifying Executive Branch positions.
This point in the legislation is crucial for defining who the candidates for the election will be.
Before Fux’s decision, the main candidates were state deputy Douglas Ruas (), former secretary Nicola Miccione (Casa Civil) and former president of Alerj André Ceciliano (PT). They all held secretarial positions — the first two, in the state government, and the PT member, in the federal government. They left their posts in the last few days to make their candidacy viable in the event of the injunction being revoked.
After Fux’s decision, other names began to move. Among them are deputies Guilherme Delaroli (PL), acting president of Alerj, and Chico Machado (Solidariedade).
Rio de Janeiro will have an indirect election in a month due to the resignation of the former governor (PL). Former deputy Thiago Pampolha had already left his position in May last year, to (State Audit Court).
Currently, the Guanabara Palace is under the command of the president of the Court of Justice, judge Ricardo Couto, because the president of Alerj, (União Brasil), is removed from office by order of minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF.
Gonet also defended holding the election with an open vote. “The state deputy votes on behalf of his constituents, who have the right to scrutinize how his representative deliberated, in the context of supervising the acts of those who decide for him (accountability). Therefore, the legislative option for an open vote in these indirect elections is included in the field of political choices of the local legislator”, wrote the PGR.
Fux ordered the application of closed voting to, according to him, avoid the influence of organized crime in the election.
According to Cláudio Castro’s initial plan, Bacellar would be chosen by Alerj, where he had broad support, in an indirect election as a “buffer governor” to run for re-election in October.
The plan fell apart when Bacellar was arrested and removed from office by Moraes, under suspicion of leaking information about the operation, linked to Comando Vermelho. He denies it.
Bacellar was replaced by Delaroli in command of the Assembly. As he is interim, he cannot take over the state government in the event of vacancy in the positions of governor and deputy.
This Tuesday (24), the TSE revoked Bacellar’s mandate, which will lead Alerj to elect a new president, who will automatically become interim governor until the indirect election.
