PT president, Edinho Silva, said this Tuesday (9) that the party respects the decision of the president of the (Superior Electoral Court), Atlas/Bloomberg showed in ().
“If he made this decision, it must be justified. We respect the Judiciary’s decision,” said Edinho.
Kassio ordered that the survey be taken offline, partially responding to a request from Flávio’s pre-campaign. The decision by the president of the TSE was given on a preliminary (provisional) basis and can be analyzed this Tuesday (9) by the other ministers in a session of the electoral court.
The team of the PL pre-candidate for the Presidency stated that the survey questionnaire was “structured in such a way as to seriously induce a negative perception” about the senator after the revelation of the case of his exchanging messages with the then owner of , , to finance the film “”, about the former president (PL).
The survey, released on May 19, showed a 6-point drop in Flávio’s voting intentions in a second round scenario against Lula (PT), who will seek re-election. The research was the first after the release of the audio linking Flávio to Vorcaro.
“We have a lot of respect for Minister Nunes Marques, we are sure that he will conduct the electoral process in the best way possible. We will always comply with what the TSE decides and what the president of the TSE expresses in his decisions”, declared Edinho.
Edinho’s speech is in a softer tone than that of other party members. Representative Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ), for example, Flávio Bolsonaro’s legal request.
Kassio’s decision reignited fear among PT members that the president of the TSE would align himself with Bolsonarism in this year’s election. He reached the position of minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) on the recommendation of now former president Jair Bolsonaro.
In private conversations, members of the PT leadership state that the arguments presented to remove the survey from the air are not sustainable. Despite this, the party should not get involved in this discussion. The reasoning is that it is not worth disagreeing with the president of the TSE over an issue that does not directly involve the party and given the proximity of the election.
João Francisco Meira, president of the Public Opinion and Political Research Council of Abep (Brazilian Association of Research Companies), criticized Kassio’s decision, which he classifies as censorship. He further argues that the STF’s understanding contradicts the determination.
“Our assessment is extremely negative. It is a decision that does not comply with the fundamental right to information”, says Meira, who is also the founder of the Vox Populi institute.
The AtlasIntel institute is not part of Abep.
Kassio’s decision was one of electoral law consulted by the Sheet.
Regarding the merits of the case, there is disagreement between those who see an undue limitation on freedom of expression and information and those who consider that there is sufficient evidence of possible contamination of the research for the definitive or, at least, provisional suspension.
There are those who point to the distance between the date on which the request was partially granted, on Monday (8), and , as an argument against an urgent decision. On the other hand, there are those who understand that even with this interval, possible damage from continued disclosure would justify the measure.
