The state deputy (), pre-candidate for the Government of , was elected this Friday (17) president of Alerj (Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro), with 44 votes. Of the total of 70 members of the House, 25 left the plenary in protest, and there was one abstention.
With the election, command of the Guanabara Palace is officially subject to a decision by the (Supreme Federal Court).
The court determined that Judge Ricardo Couto, president of the Court of Justice, would remain as interim governor until a buffer governor was chosen, interfering with the line of succession provided for in the state Constitution.
Deputies who are part of the alliance of the former mayor of Rio de Janeiro () did not participate in the vote because they disagreed with the open vote, as provided for in Alerj’s regulations. They defended the secret choice, following the procedure defended by all Supreme Court ministers for the rules of the indirect election for buffer governor.
The choice of Ruas as president of Alerj is seen by the PL as a way to increase the deputy’s exposure, in his first term, for the dispute for state government both in October and in a possible popular election in the middle of the year to choose the buffer governor in the state.
The election was also a preview of the contest of forces between the PL and the group led by Paes for a possible indirect election to choose the buffer governor. The definition of the name that will lead the state until December still depends on the conclusion of the trial in the STF.
O, with the votes of five ministers still remaining. The minister requested a review of the process, citing the need to publish the ruling in the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) that impeached the former governor (PL), in March.
Rio de Janeiro has been without a governor since March 23, when (PL) resigned to run for the Senate. His departure from office occurred on the eve of the TSE judgment with the aim of avoiding a direct election for his immediate succession, which could be determined in the event of revocation of the mandate.
Without a vice, as Thiago Pampolha resigned last year to take up a seat at the TCE (State Audit Court), the next in line would be the president of Alerj. However, the Rio de Janeiro Legislature had its president, Rodrigo Bacellar (União), away since December, during the investigation into the leak of information about the investigation against former deputy TH Joias, linked to Comando Vermelho.
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, since Castro’s resignation, the government has been 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.
Couto remains in government now, following an injunction by Minister Cristiano Zanin, endorsed by the STF plenary. The situation will only be defined when the ministers resume the discussion on whether the buffer governor, who will lead the state until December, will be elected in a direct election, by popular vote, or indirectly, by state deputies.
