Voting lasted around 30 minutes and deputy was elected with 45 votes
Former state secretary of Cities Douglas Ruas (PL) was elected this Thursday (26), by 45 votes, the new president of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj). The vote lasted approximately 30 minutes and, according to the line of succession, he should be the next governor of Rio de Janeiro.
With the resignation of the former governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, and the vote on Tuesday (24), in the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the interim governor of the state is judge Ricardo Couto.
This situation occurs because the vice-governor, Thiago Pampolha, who took up a position at the State Court of Auditors (TCE-RJ) left in 2025 and the president of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), Rodrigo Bacellar (União), also became ineligible after a vote in the TSE.
Ineligible
The TSE voted on Tuesday to make Cláudio Castro ineligible for 8 years. The score was 5 to 2 for conviction. He is accused of abuse of political and economic power in the 2022 elections. With the majority, the former governor of Rio de Janeiro is ineligible until 2030, which prevents him from running for the Senate in this year’s elections.
Ministers Estela Aranha, Isabel Gallotti, Cármen Lúcia and ministers Floriano de Azevedo Marques and Antônio Carlos Ferreira voted in favor. Ministers Kássio Nunes Marques and André Mendonça disagreed and voted to acquit Castro. Nunes Marques understood that not enough evidence was presented for the conviction. André Mendonça understood that the practice of abuse of political and economic power was proven, but considered that there is not enough evidence about the former governor’s participation in the scheme.
