The minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) withdrew his vote this Friday (27) in the process for governor in Rio de Janeiro and determined, in an injunction, the suspension of the indirect election for the position.
The decision was presented in the complaint filed by the PSD-RJ with the Supreme Court, asking for direct elections to be held. Zanin, rapporteur of the case, also determined that judge Ricardo Couto, president of the Court of Justice and interim governor, remain in office until the Court decides on the matter.
At the same time, Zanin featured prominently in the virtual session of the process that discussed the rules for indirect elections. The measure was taken hours after he followed the vote presented by minister Alexandre de Moraes, who defended the holding of a popular vote to define the buffer governor, until the end of 2026.
The request interrupts the virtual session that was scheduled to end on Monday (30). There is still no set date for the case to be taken to the physical plenary.
Measures were taken, according to Zanin, so that the two processes are discussed together.
The direct election thesis was presented by Moraes after five other ministers had already voted, debating only the law that established the rules for indirect elections. Zanin, Gilmar Mendes and Flávio Dino followed the proposal. The president of the STF, Edson Fachin, was the only one, among those who voted after Moraes, not to adhere to the proposal, but he did not present his position on the issue.
Moraes considered that it was a maneuver to avoid the direct election, which could be determined by the (Superior Electoral Court) in the event of impeachment in the trial in which the former governor was convicted on Tuesday (24).
“With the resignation, carried out with a clear strategic objective, it was intended that the position of Governor of Rio de Janeiro would be chosen by indirect election, before the Legislative Assembly, and not directly by the population of the State of Rio de Janeiro, as would be normal, both due to the imposition of popular sovereignty and the democratic principle, and due to the fact that the vacancy, in this case, was due to an electoral cause”, wrote the minister.
He also voted so that, until the new election, the state government will be led by judge Ricardo Couto, .
The direct election is a request from the party of (), pre-candidate for state government in October. He states that he accepts to run for the buffer mandate if it is carried out with a popular vote.
The trial was interrupted when unanimous vote had already been recorded by secret vote among state deputies. There was also a large majority (9 to 1) in favor of the reduced deadline for disqualification to one day after the double vacancy of the positions of governor and vice-president.
Regarding the rules for holding an indirect election, all ministers had agreed to establish secret voting, in order to avoid the influence of the dispute in the Alerj (Legislative Assembly of ). At this point, everyone had accompanied the minister, rapporteur of the case.
By defending the secret vote, Fux contradicted the STF’s own precedents. He declared, however, that the power of organized crime in the state requires the protection of deputies’ votes.
“I believe that these considerations must gain greater weight in an environment of proliferation of organized crime, as unfortunately only occurs in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with the expansion of drug trafficking groups and armed militias, including penetration into the political environment”, wrote the minister.
If the election is indirect, Alerj’s assessment is that the secret vote favors the opposition candidate, as it allows infidels from the PL alliance to choose another name.
Regarding the deadline for non-compliance, eight ministers had followed the divergence opened by the minister, who defended the maintenance of the state law, with a provision of one day for leaving the positions after the double vacancy of the positions of governor and deputy.
She understood that the six-month period required by the ineligibility law must apply to elections already foreseen in the electoral calendar. “The reduction in the period for non-compliance by state law arises from the exceptionality of the situation addressed and the lack of predictability regarding the holding of the claim.”
Fux defended respect for the ineligibility law.
