Party questions choice of Douglas Ruas by open vote and calls for new election with secret vote
The PDT presented to the Federal Supreme Court, on Monday (April 20, 2026), an ADPF (Argument of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precepts) with a request for an injunction to annul the one that led the state deputy (PL) to the presidency of the (Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro). In the action, signed by the party’s national president, the party requests that a new election be held by secret vote. The document was distributed as a precaution to Minister Luiz Fux, due to ADI 7,942, which deals with the state’s model.
Represented in Alerj by state deputies and , the PDT maintains that the vote on Friday (April 17, 2026), carried out in an open vote, violated constitutional precepts such as freedom of mandate, the autonomy of the state Legislature, administrative morality, due legislative process and the integrity of the democratic regime. On the party’s social network, the party said it was seeking a new process for choosing the House’s Board of Directors.
In the petition, the party asks for the nullity of the April 17th election, the removal of Douglas Ruas and the making of a new selection of the Board of Directors “mandatorily by secret ballot”. It also requests that the STF declare the unconstitutionality of the practice of open nominal voting in the election of Alerj’s management and of normative or administrative acts that have given basis to this model. According to the piece, the regulatory change used to support open voting would not have gone through due legislative process. Here is the petition (PDF – 1.37 mB).
The text presented to the Supreme Court also states that the election was called hastily and says that the dispute had a direct impact on the succession of the government of Rio de Janeiro, as the president of Alerj is part of the succession line of the state Executive. The action also cites episodes of internal pressure and mass dismissals of advisors after relevant votes, in addition to mentioning a previous decision by Fux according to which a secret vote may be necessary to protect autonomy in Rio.
Douglas Ruas was elected on Friday (April 17, 2026) as the only candidate, with the support of 44 of the 65 state deputies and one abstention. The opposition gave up on launching Vitor Júnior and boycotted the session after the vote remained open. Before that, the Rio Court of Justice had already annulled the previous election for the House of Representatives, held in March.
On Instagram, Douglas Ruas posted a video on Saturday (April 18, 2026) saying that he is not interested in legal disputes and that he intends to guide the work “through dialogue”.
