The minister Cristiano Zanin, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), suspended this Friday (27) the holding of indirect elections for the government of Rio de Janeiro and determined that the president of the state Court of Justice would remain in office until the Court’s plenary decides on the matter.
The decision was taken in RCL (Complaint) 92.644, presented by the state directory of PSDwhich questions the succession model defined after the revocation of the ticket elected in 2022.
In addition to suspending the indirect election, Zanin asked for prominence in the . With this, the analysis will be restarted in the physical plenary of the STF.
In the decision, the minister stated that actions regarding succession in the Rio de Janeiro government must be analyzed together to standardize the Court’s understanding of the issue.
Zanin also pointed out a possible contradiction between the TSE (Superior Electoral Court)which determined indirect elections, and a precedent from the STF itself. According to this understanding, the minister stated, when the vacancy is due to an electoral cause and there are more than six months remaining in the mandate, replacement must occur by direct electionwith voter participation.
The minister noted that, despite the decision, the judgment has not yet been finalized and the votes may be reviewed with emphasis. “This situation could make it possible to make possible adjustments to the votes already cast,” he stated.
PSD action
The complaint was presented by the PSDB, which defends the calling of direct elections in the state.
The acronym argues that the vacancy in the position is due to an electoral cause — —, which would attract the application of the rules of the Electoral Code to hold a new direct election.
The scenario in Rio is worsened by the absence of a vice-governor. Thiago Pampolha He left the position last year to take up a position at the TCE-RJ (State Audit Court).
As a result, Castro’s departure generated a situation of double vacancy in the state Executive.
Given this situation, the Alerj (Legislative Assembly of Rio) approved a law providing for indirect elections for the buffer mandate, with voting restricted to state deputies — a model now suspended by decision of the STF.
The definition of the succession format for the state government of Rio de Janeiro will be up to the Court’s plenary.
