STF will decide on election in RJ after TSE reinforces Castro's conviction

The conclusion of the judgment of the appeals at the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) opened the way for the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to resume the analysis of the actions that will define how the succession to the government of Rio de Janeiro will be after the departure of Cláudio Castro.

On Tuesday (2), the TSE rejected the embargoes for declaration presented by the former governor, the former president of Alerj (Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro) Rodrigo Bacellar and the MPE (Public Electoral Ministry).

With this, the decision that declared Castro ineligible for eight years and revoked Bacellar's diploma for abuse of political and economic power in the 2022 elections was maintained.

The decision of the TSE was awaited by Minister Flávio Dino, who is keeping the judgment of the actions that discuss the succession model to the government of Rio de Janeiro suspended in the STF, after requesting a review (more time to analyze the case). The Supreme Court analyzes whether the new governor should be chosen by direct election, with popular vote, or by indirect election, carried out by the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly.

Before the suspension of the trial, the score was 4 votes to 1 in favor of holding an indirect election. Ministers Luiz Fux, André Mendonça, Nunes Marques and Cármen Lúcia voted in this sense. Rapporteur Cristiano Zanin disagreed and defended the holding of a direct election.

When requesting a review of the case, Dino stated that he would await the conclusion of the appeals at the TSE to clarify the legal effects of Castro's resignation on the eve of the conclusion of the electoral process.

The minister's doubt was related to the origin of the vacancy in the position. In other words, if Castro's departure was considered a consequence of an electoral sanction, a direct election should have been called in the state, with a popular vote. On the other hand, if the thesis prevailed that the vacancy resulted from a valid resignation, the tendency would be to maintain the indirect election, as provided for by state legislation for cases of replacement in the last two years of a mandate.

With Tuesday's decision, the TSE reaffirmed that there was no formal revocation of the diplomas of Cláudio Castro and Thiago Pampolha. The understanding tends to strengthen the current in the STF that considers the former governor's resignation valid and, consequently, defends the holding of an indirect election to choose the successor.

While the trial remains at a standstill at the Supreme Court, the president of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice, Ricardo Couto, remains in charge of the state government on an interim basis.

It will be up to Dino to return the case for analysis by the plenary, which does not yet have a date to occur.

Analysis at TSE
In March, the TSE concluded that there was abuse of political and economic power in the 2022 elections through the use of the Ceperj structure (State Center for Statistics, Research and Training of Public Servants of Rio de Janeiro) and projects linked to Uerj (State University of Rio de Janeiro).

The majority of ministers understood that around 27,500 temporary hires carried out by Ceperj were used irregularly during the electoral period, politically benefiting the group allied with the then governor.

With the decision, Castro was declared ineligible until 2030. The former governor even moved to run for a seat in the Senate in 2026, but withdrew from the pre-candidacy after being the target of two operations by the Federal Police.

The main point of divergence in Tuesday's judgment involved an appeal by the PGE (Electoral Attorney General's Office). The body defended that the court formally recognize the revocation of the diplomas of Castro and his former deputy, Thiago Pampolha, maintaining that the resignation of the two from their positions would not eliminate the electoral effects of the conviction.

By 5 votes to 2, however, the ministers rejected the thesis. The majority understood that there were not enough votes in favor of revoking the diplomas during the merits trial held in March and, therefore, there would be no room to change the result already proclaimed.

Ministers Floriano de Azevedo Marques and Estela Aranha were defeated. Both argued that the revocation of the diploma is a mandatory consequence of recognizing the abuse of political and economic power, regardless of the candidate's permanence in office.

Master, Refit and Ineligibility: Cláudio Castro's defeats | CNN BRAZIL

Source: CNN