The judgment in the (Supreme Federal Court) this Wednesday (8) on how the decision will be made is another chapter in the court’s action on politics in the state.
The ministers will discuss whether there will be direct or indirect elections to choose who will command the Guanabara Palace until December.
This Tuesday (7), the PGR (Attorney General’s Office) spoke out defending that the election be by popular vote.
The Supreme Court entered the electoral agenda in Rio de Janeiro in 2020 by imposing it on communities. The (Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro) Rodrigo Bacellar (União Brasil), another chapter of this influence, is a .
The marks of the STF also appeared in politics with the trial of Domingos Brazão, former deputy, and Chiquinho Brazão, former federal deputy, (PSOL), in 2018.
The three cases were even cited by minister Flávio Dino in his decision to choose the buffer governor, as a result of the (Superior Electoral Court).
“Now, it is obvious that the TSE’s recent decision has a retrospective dimension, with the analysis of past facts, but also a prospective purpose: the institutional sanitation of Rio de Janeiro, to
view of the very serious context summarized above”, wrote Dino.
The plenary of the Supreme Court judges this Wednesday the complaint proposed in the Supreme Court by -RJ, from the former mayor, pre-candidate for governor, asking for direct elections to be held
The argument is that Castro’s resignation on the eve of the TSE trial was a maneuver to avoid a direct election, which could be determined by the court in the event of impeachment in the trial in which the former governor was convicted.
The Constitution of Rio de Janeiro provides for an indirect election, by state deputies, if the double vacancy of the positions of governor and deputy occurs without electoral conviction. The state has been without a vice-governor since last year, when Thiago Pampolha resigned to take up a seat at the TCE (State Audit Court).
The electoral deputy attorney general, Alexandre Espinosa, defended the request for direct voting.
“The understanding that there was recognition of abuse of power with the declaration of ineligibility and the revocation of the diploma (not carried out because he factually no longer held a mandate at the conclusion of the trial) of Cláudio Castro shows that, in this case, there was a vacancy as a result of a decision by the Electoral Court. This situation, in all evidence, is not consistent with the determination to hold indirect elections”, wrote Espinosa.
Another issue to be decided is whether judge Ricardo Couto, president of the Court of Justice, remains as interim governor until the election of the buffer governor. This was a proposal made by Minister Alexandre de Moraes when he voted in favor of direct elections. Espinosa did not comment on the topic, because it was not part of the PSD-RJ’s original request.
The decision to keep Couto is seen by deputies from Castro’s base and even, with reservations, from Paes’ allies as one in Rio de Janeiro. This is because the Assembly must elect a new president this month, a name that would be ahead of the judge in the line of succession, according to the Constitution of Rio de Janeiro.
The state government is not, at the moment, under the command of the president of Alerj because the position has been vacant since December, when Bacellar was arrested on suspicion of leaking information about an operation against former deputy TH Joias, suspected of links with Comando Vermelho.
Deputy Guilherme Delaroli (), vice-president of Alerj, provisionally assumed the presidency of the House, but cannot take over the Guanabara Palace as he is not the holder of the position. For this reason, the government is under the responsibility of Couto, president of the TJ-RJ and last in the line of succession provided for in the Rio de Janeiro Constitution.
The election for Alerj’s presidency will take place because Bacellar was impeached last month by the TSE in the same process that condemned Castro. With the command of the House officially vacant — before he was just removed — the election should take place in the second half of April, after the TRE formalizes the new composition of the Assembly after the annulment of Bacellar’s votes.
The PSD defends the maintenance of Couto as it envisages the election of deputy Douglas Ruas (PL), a pre-candidate for the government, to command Alerj, where Castro’s base has a large majority.
Ruas won the race last month, but the election was annulled by the courts because it was held before the recount of votes following Bacellar’s impeachment. The retotalization, carried out last week, did not change the composition of the House, but the tumultuous session led Moraes to see a “reigning legal uncertainty in relation to the head of the state Legislative Branch”
“These anomalous circumstances require that the president of the TJ-RJ remain in the position of governor of the state until the supplementary direct elections are held, in order to guarantee the necessary legal security”, wrote Moraes.
Paes’ group also argues that Ruas intends to use the government machine in the October elections, just as Castro did in 2022, according to the TSE.
Politicians also claim that there is the possibility of the STF keeping Ricardo Couto as governor until October, due to the logistical difficulties in holding two elections, possibly with two rounds each, within a four-month interval.
The next viable date for holding the direct election on the TSE calendar for supplementary elections is June 21st. How to Sheet showed on Monday (6), if the deadlines adopted in the Tocantins supplementary election in 2018 are adopted in Rio de Janeiro, the process would end in the same week as the beginning of the October election.
The STF must also discuss the state law that defined rules for indirect elections in the event of a double vacancy in the positions of governor and vice-president for non-electoral reasons. All ministers supported the secret vote in Alerj to avoid the influence of organized crime and the majority (9 to 1), the deadline for disqualification of one day after the positions become vacant.
The judgment on the law was not concluded because the minister had to analyze the two actions (on the direct or indirect election, and on the rules for indirect elections) together in the plenary.
