TSE reinforces that using the church in campaigns constitutes abuse of power; understand

Using the structure and influence of churches to promote candidates may constitute abuse of political power. This was the understanding reinforced by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) when it maintained the conviction of the then mayor of Votorantim (SP), Fabíola Alves da Silva, and councilor Alison Andrei Pereira de Camargo, for irregularities in the 2024 elections.

The case involves the support given by the Foursquare Gospel Church to the candidacies of the two politicians. During a meeting held by the church, the local religious leader stated that he had the objective of electing 120 councilors that year and presented Alison Andrei as the candidate chosen to represent the institution. At the time, he declared that the church was "closed" with the councilor.

The then mayor also participated in the event. According to the records, she was called to the altar, presented as a pre-candidate for re-election and received prayers alongside other candidates.

For the TSE, the actions were electoral in nature and used religious influence to boost candidacies. The ministers understood that there was an improper use of the faith of the faithful to obtain political support.

The Court also took into consideration a contract signed between the city hall and the church. In an election year, the municipality increased the amount of rent paid for a property belonging to the church by 34.1%.

The court highlighted that another city hall rental contract, readjusted in the same period, received an increase of just 2.45%, highlighting the disproportionality.

In the ministers' assessment, the adjustment without adequate technical justification reinforced the conclusion that the mayor granted a benefit to the church in exchange for political support, which unbalanced the electoral dispute.

As a result, the TSE maintained the revocation of candidacy records and the ineligibility of Fabíola and Alison for eight years.

In judging the case, the Court emphasized that religious freedom cannot be used to cover up practices that affect the fairness of elections.

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Source: CNN