With Ramagem in the USA, Motta approves opinion that prohibits deputy from voting from abroad

The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), welcomed an opinion from the General Secretariat of the Board that says it is impossible for a deputy being abroad, without being on an official mission, to vote in semi-presential deliberative sessions of the House, even if he is on leave for health treatment.

The assessment is made after federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ) registered a vote in favor of the anti-faction bill last week, even though he was in Miami, in the United States.

For the Federal Supreme Court, Ramagem, convicted of an attempted coup, is considered a fugitive.

Despite the opinion being modeled on Ramagem’s case, the expectation is that the deputy will not have his vote annulled, according to Broadcast, Grupo Estado’s real-time news system. The assessment is that the parliamentarian was able to register the vote because he had requested medical leave, a condition that allows deputies to vote remotely. However, until then it was not known that he was abroad.

Now, the Chamber says that it is not possible for a deputy to vote from abroad, even if he is on leave, and emphasizes that it is up to the Presidency of the Chamber to prevent the registration of his presence and voting.

“It remains clear that the only possibility for a federal deputy to participate in deliberative sessions and meetings while abroad is if he is on an official mission authorized by the Chamber of Deputies. This requirement is absolute, and is not mitigated by the fact that the session or meeting may eventually be held on a semi-presential basis”, records the opinion.

The opinion reinforces the understanding that an unannounced departure from the country by a deputy constitutes a violation of the internal regulations, “preventing the inclusion of exceptional hypotheses that presuppose the regularity of parliamentary activity”.

“Location abroad is not compatible with the practice of acts that require participation in a deliberative session or meeting, except for the specific and strict exception of the authorized official mission. In the present case, the deputy is on health treatment leave, but is abroad; he is abroad, but is not on an official mission: therefore, he cannot participate (register attendance and votes) in the sessions, not even through the Infoleg application”, completes the text.

Ramagem left the country after requesting leave for health treatment, but without informing him about going to Miami. The trip took place on the eve of the trial of his conviction for participating in the coup plot created by the Jair Bolsonaro government. This Tuesday, the 25th, minister Alexandre de Moraes ordered the execution of the final sentence of those sentenced, including Ramagem and former president Jair Bolsonaro.

In the decision in which he ordered the arrest warrant for Ramagem, who is considered a fugitive, to be issued, Moraes determined that Motta should be made official in the decision so that the Chamber Board could declare the loss of the parliamentarian’s mandate. This Tuesday, the 25th, the president of the House said that he was “waiting for the request to arrive to analyze” it.