TSE Minister opened the divergence by considering that there is no evidence of irregularities in the hiring of temporary employees during the 2022 elections
Minister Nunes Marques, from voted this Tuesday (24.mar.2026) to acquit the former governor of Rio de Janeiro (PL) in the process of ineligibility due to abuse of political and economic power. For the minister, there are not enough elements to prove an electoral benefit that supports the sanction.
Castro resigned from office on Monday (March 23, 2026), one day before the trial resumed. “I leave with my head completely held high. I leave with my highest approval, I leave, according to opinion polls, leading all polls for the Senate“, said the pre-candidate in an interview with journalists.
The former governor of Rio de Janeiro is suspected of irregularities in the hiring of temporary public agents during the 2022 electoral process, when he was re-elected. Nunes Marques opened the divergence and disagreed with the case’s rapporteur, Isabel Gallotti, who voted for the conviction, with impeachment and ineligibility.
“The existence of only 3 testimonies in a universe of 27,000 hirings is insufficient to characterize the electoral nature of the actions”, said the minister.
The minister declared that the conduct analyzed had no impact on the dispute or on the regularity of the electoral process itself. He also said that the Electoral Court does not require “mathematical proof” to characterize abuse of power, simply analyzing the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the facts.
According to Marques, “the structuring foundation of democracy is not consolidated with the removal of those chosen by the voter”.
O CASO NO TSE
The TSE trial opened in November 2025, when Gallotti voted to convict those investigated. On March 10, 2025, minister Antônio Carlos Ferreira cast his vote and said that the actions taken in the campaign of the current governor of Rio de Janeiro were “transvestites of public policies” who helped Castro in “maintenance of power”. Also according to the minister, the facts presented by the electoral courts present political electoral appeal through the “supposed social programs”.
In the vote, Gallotti stated that the irregularities were not “isolated episodes”but part of a “strategy conducted within the scope of the state government”. According to the minister, the administrative structure was used during the electoral period, with the publication of normative acts and large-scale hiring.
When rebutting one of Bacellar’s defense theses, Gallotti also declared that “there is no legal or material link between the dean and the other people being investigated” and that “It is not mandatory to include one of the public agents as a defendant”.
UNDERSTAND
Actions judged by the TSE investigate suspicions of abuse of political and economic power during the 2022 elections in Rio de Janeiro. The investigation involves temporary hiring made by the state government through Ceperj (Foundation Center for State Statistics, Research and Training of Public Servants) and UERJ (University of the State of Rio de Janeiro).
According to the Public Electoral Ministry, part of these hirings would have been used to politically favor the Castro campaign. The process reached the TSE after the (Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro) acquit the former governor in 2024. The suspicions began in 2022, during the election campaign. Read the of the complaint (PDF – 2.2 MB).
The investigations showed that Ceperj hired 27,000 workers through projects and agreements with state government bodies. In many cases, payments were made in cash, at bank branches, which raised questions about transparency and control. The foundation would also have expanded contracts and programs during the election period.
Part of the hiring took place in partnership with UERJ, which also started to execute projects with a large volume of temporary hiring. According to the investigations cited in the lawsuits, the contractors had acted as canvassers in the governor’s re-election campaign.
ABSOLUTION IN TRE-RJ AND APPEAL IN TSE
The TRE-RJ judged the case in May 2024. By 4 votes to 3, the court decided that abuse of power by the accused had not been proven.
