Newly elected president of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), state deputy Doulgas Ruas was at the Federal Supreme Court this Thursday in an effort to try to take over the state government. The parliamentarian met with minister Cristiano Zanin, one of the rapporteurs of the actions that discuss the succession model for a buffer mandate, whether it will be an indirect or direct election.
Ruas’ articulation occurs after Alerj sued the Supreme Court asking for his immediate possession. The argument presented by the Legislative House is that the president of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJ-RJ), Ricardo Couto, only took office because there was a vacancy in the presidency of the assembly, which no longer occurs.
Behind the scenes, ministers point out that the decision to keep the president of the Court of Justice as interim governor was made by the plenary and, therefore, only a collegial decision could reverse the understanding.
Couto took over the government after the resignation of Cláudio Castro, who at the time resigned from the position in order to run for a seat in the Senate. His deputy, Thiago Pampolha, had already resigned last year to take up a seat at the State Audit Court (TCE). The position of president of Alerj, second in the line of succession, was vacant after the removal of state deputy Rodrigo Bacellar, the target of investigation on suspicion of obstruction of justice.
At the hearing with Zanin, Ruas was accompanied by the president of the PL state directory, federal deputy Altineu Côrtes. To GLOBO, Côrtes stated that he asked the Supreme Court for “speed” in defining the format of the election.
— It was an institutional meeting and we talked about the election process in Rio de Janeiro, asking for speed in the court’s decision on how the direct or indirect election will be held — Côrtes told GLOBO after the meeting.
Continues after advertising
After the meeting with Zanin, Côrtes said that the conversation was “an institutional conversation” and that the STF minister said that the process is “with the STF minister” and “awaiting the publication of the TSE ruling”. Furthermore, Côrtes stated that Zanin had signaled that he would only make a decision in the case after Dino’s movement.
Rapporteur of the action that questions the decision of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) that ordered the holding of indirect elections in the state after the resignation of former governor Claudio Castro, Zanin granted an injunction at the end of March suspending the holding of the election for the government of Rio de Janeiro. Castro is part of Valdemar’s PL, and plans to run for a seat in the Senate in the October elections.
The background to the controversy is precisely the form of replacement for state command. In the action, the PSD questions whether Castro’s resignation amid the TSE trial would lead to an indirect election by Alerj or whether, with the revocation of the diploma by the Electoral Court, it would be necessary to call direct elections.
The issue began to be examined by the STF plenary, but the judgment was suspended due to a request for review. The central point for the trial is the assessment of the reason for the double vacancy — the fact that the positions of governor and vice-president are vacant at the same time — in Rio: whether due to the conviction by the TSE or because of Castro’s resignation, which directly affects the format of Rio’s elections.
When requesting a review of the case, Minister Flávio Dino highlighted that it is necessary to wait for the publication of the TSE ruling to clarify this point. According to him, only with the document will it be possible to understand what the Electoral Court’s assessment was of Castro’s resignation, which occurred in the middle of the trial, whether it was considered legally valid or an attempt to defraud the effects of the conviction.
As O GLOBO showed, the TSE ruling in the trial that made Castro ineligible has now been concluded and does not stipulate whether the election for the buffer mandate in charge of the state should be direct or indirect. The document, however, has not yet been published as the TSE is awaiting the completion of internal procedures, according to court interlocutors. The tendency is for this to happen in the coming days, a period in which there may still be adjustments to the text.
Continues after advertising
