Acting governor of Rio de Janeiro postpones call for buffer election

The acting governor of Rio, judge Ricardo Couto, stated this Wednesday that he will postpone the call for the “buffer election” to choose the replacement for former governor Cláudio Castro (PL). According to Couto — who is the president of the Court of Justice of Rio (TJ-RJ), but has temporarily occupied the Executive Branch since Castro’s resignation —, there are doubts whether this election will be direct, that is, with the participation of the entire population, or indirect, with only votes from state deputies. The postponement also occurs to await the judgment of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which begins this Wednesday, on the rules of this buffer election.

— I am officiating at the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) to clarify whether it is a direct or indirect election. For security reasons, I prefer to officiate to avoid questions tomorrow. We know that this upcoming election is generating a lot of disputes — Couto said at a press conference.

At another time, the president of the TJ also stated that “everything leads us to believe” that the election will be indirect.

— Everything suggests from the content that the TSE decided on an indirect election, but there is an indication in the decision of an article of the direct election law. I believe this is a material error. I am taking maximum caution,” he said.

The acting governor also said that it is “extremely important to be calm and cautious so that the process is carried out correctly and responsibly”, and does not suffer future legal questions.

According to the law approved by the Legislative Assembly (Alerj), Couto would have 48 hours, following Castro’s resignation, to publish the notice calling for this election — aimed at choosing a new governor to complete the remainder of the term, which runs until December 31, 2026. As the governor’s resignation was announced on Monday and formalized in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, Couto should call the buffer election this Wednesday, in time to formalize the notice in the Gazette Official Thursday.

The buffer election does not replace the October election, when the entire population chooses a new governor for a four-year term.

The question, according to Couto, is whether this election will be held only by the 70 state deputies of the Legislative Assembly (Alerj), or whether voting will be open to the entire electorate. This is because the TSE condemned Castro, on Tuesday, for abuse of political and economic power in the Ceperj case, and one of the sanctions for this conduct is the revocation of the elected official’s diploma — a sanction that, according to the Electoral Code, requires a direct election to replace him.

During this Tuesday’s trial in the Ceperj case, the majority of TSE ministers considered Castro’s impeachment hypothesis to be “harmed”, as the former governor had resigned the day before. However, there was a statement from two ministers — the president of the TSE, Cármen Lúcia, and Floriano Azevedo Marques Neto — to include the opinion for revocation in the Court’s decision.

Case in the STF

There are also doubts about the rules of a possible indirect election. Last week, STF minister Luiz Fux changed the rules for a possible indirect election, and began to require that candidates had removed themselves from positions in the Executive within a period of six months before the dispute. Fux also determined that deputies hold this election with a secret vote.

This Wednesday, however, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) argued to Fux for the resumption of the rule approved by the Legislative Assembly in February, which provided for non-compliance within 24 hours after Castro’s resignation. The PGR also defended that the vote be open, in accordance with the law approved by Alerj and sanctioned by the Rio government.

After this opinion from the PGR, Fux submitted the issue to the virtual plenary of the Supreme Court, in a session that starts at 6pm this Wednesday and can go until next Monday. In this session, all Court ministers will be able to vote on which rule will apply to the hypothetical indirect election.

Impact of Bacellar’s impeachment

In addition to the uncertainty about the rules and type of election, Couto also stated that it is necessary to wait for the impacts of the revocation of the mandate of the president of Alerj, Rodrigo Bacellar (União), decided on Tuesday by the TSE in the judgment of the Ceperj case. The Electoral Court ordered the retotaling of the votes in the election for state deputy, excluding the votes obtained by Bacellar, which could change the composition of the party benches in Alerj.

If Castro’s replacement is chosen indirectly, all 70 state deputies vote for governor. Before that, however, they will also have to elect a new president of Alerj, given the vacancy in Bacellar’s position. This new president of Alerj will lead the state in Couto’s place, and will be responsible for supervising the buffer election, whether direct or indirect.

— With this situation (of Bacellar) the prospect for the presidency of Alerj opens up. It must be seen calmly because when impeaching the deputy, the TSE expressed the need to recount the votes to find out which deputy will take his place. Even though he is only a deputy, he can be a candidate for president of Alerj. This postulation is his right. We can have an election decided by one vote. This deputy becomes very relevant at this moment — explained Couto.