Arruda (PSD), on the first day of free electoral hours in DF — Photo: Reproduction
The topic reached the TSE this Friday (4), when Arruda appealed the unanimous decision of the Regional Electoral Court (TRE-DF) to reject his candidacy for this year's elections.
The judges assessed that Arruda remains ineligible under the rules of the Clean Record Law. The politician claims that the ineligibility period has already ended and that, therefore, his name may appear in the electronic ballot box in October.
With the appeal, the final decision rests with the TSE. But the law does not define a specific deadline for the matter to go to trial. And, in addition to the content of the decision, the timing of the announcement of the result can also impact the electoral race – and even the inauguration of the new government.
The first round of the election is scheduled for October 4th – an exact month after the day Arruda's appeal reached the TSE.
Another deadline, however, is even shorter: if it wants to replace Arruda's name with another candidate in the electronic ballot box, the PSD has until September 14th to make the request. In other words, less than a week, if the Independence holiday is taken into account.
So far, the coalition between PSD and Avante has not expressed any intention of making the change in the system.
This means that, if the TSE reaffirms that Arruda is ineligible, the parties can even replace the candidacy – but at the ballot box, the current candidate will appear, with the note "sub judice candidacy".
g1 questioned the TSE about the judgment forecast and the rules for analyzing the appeal. The court stated that it "does not comment on specific cases that may be subject to analysis by the court's Plenary".
What happens after the resource?
According to lawyer Guilherme Augusto Mota, a specialist in electoral law, candidacies like Arruda's are considered "sub judice" until there is a definitive decision from the Court.
As long as the TSE does not take a position, the former governor's campaign can continue unchanged. Arruda can hold events, appear in radio and TV advertising and even appear in the electronic ballot box, just like any other approved ticket.
"This does not mean that these votes are already definitively validated. The candidacy remains conditional on the result of the appeal", he explains.
Until the process becomes final, the votes attributed to the candidate are counted normally.
If the TSE validates the candidacy registration, the votes are definitively validated.
If the TSE confirms the TRE's decision and overturns the candidacy, the votes cast for that ticket will be annulled.
"If the TSE itself confirms, by collegiate decision, the rejection before the election, the scenario changes. There will no longer be the same protection afforded to the candidate who is still awaiting judgment", explains Mota.
Possible scenarios
In the first rounds of surveys by Quaest and Datafolha for the DF government, released in August, Arruda appears in second place in voting intentions for the government.
Therefore, the legal status of the former governor's candidacy can change the outcome of the elections in different ways.
Electoral lawyer Luiz Felipe da Silva Andrade, member of the Brazilian Academy of Electoral and Political Law (Abradep), helps to understand what can happen in each of them.
Exit from the electoral dispute
If Arruda or the party so decide, the candidate has until September 14th to nominate a replacement on the ticket. The law provides that this must happen no later than 20 days before the first round.
In this case, the former governor's photo may even appear in the ballot box, but the votes will be counted for the new composition of the ticket.
➡️This happens because, often, the change only reaches the Electoral Justice system when the tables that supply the electronic voting machines have already been prepared.
Arruda in the second round
Even if the TSE has not decided on registration, Arruda can be voted on and even reach the second round as a "sub judice" candidacy (under trial).
If the TSE rejects the ticket between the first and second round votes, the votes given to Arruda are annulled. And, in this case, the rule is to call the third most voted candidate.
But there is an exception. If the sum of these canceled votes and other invalid votes exceeds 50%, a new election will need to be called.
Retotalization
If Arruda's candidacy (or any other) is annulled or rejected after the vote, the TSE will have to carry out a process called "retotalization".
In practice, the calculation is simple: the canceled votes are removed from the sum, and the percentages are recalculated.
🧮Imagine an election with 100 votes. At the end of the count, candidate A has 40 votes (40%), candidate B has 20 (20%) and the other candidates concentrate the remaining 40 votes (40%).
🧮If candidate B's votes are annulled, the proportions change. The 20 votes would be removed from the count, leaving only 80 valid votes remaining. In this scenario, candidate A would have 50% of the votes (40 of the 80 votes).
In the scenario above, the dispute would originally have gone to a second round. And, even if the leading candidate exceeded 50% in the new division, a victory in the first round would not be declared.
The person explaining it is electoral lawyer Luiz Felipe da Silva Andrade.
"If Arruda is among the two classified for the second round [and loses in the TSE, the other finalist is not automatically elected if he reaches 50% of the remaining votes. Once one of those classified between the rounds is definitively excluded, the next most voted candidate enters and the second round takes place", he explains.
Elected candidate
As there is no deadline defined by law, the decision on Arruda's candidacy may even be made after the final results of the elections – whether in a single round or in two rounds.
If the candidacy is approved by the TSE, the votes are validated and the result identified up to that point is confirmed.
But... what if the candidacy is annulled after the conclusion of the electoral process?
Then, once again, the law provides for different scenarios.
If Arruda wins the election and his candidacy is still "sub judice", the Superior Electoral Court is prevented from proclaiming the result until the validity of the ticket is judged. In this case, the appeal becomes urgent.
If the registration of the candidacy is rejected and the candidate has won at the ballot box, the result is annulled and a new election must be called.
📆It is necessary to pay attention to another important date: the diploma, scheduled for December 18th.
📆Candidates awaiting judgment on their tickets cannot be qualified for positions. If the date arrives, they will be prevented from taking office.
"The Resolution determines that the president of the Legislative Branch temporarily assumes the position. In the Federal District, this means the president of the Legislative Chamber, who would remain in office until a favorable decision on the registration or holding of the new election", explains the expert.
Why did TRE-DF reject Arruda's registration?
The Regional Electoral Court accepted, by unanimous vote, the arguments of two challenges – one from the Public Electoral Ministry, and the other presented by a former regional administrator and current candidate for district deputy.
🔎 To challenge is the act of presenting opposition or contesting something. In other words, challenging the registration of a candidacy is a way of trying to prevent a certain person from being a candidate or candidate because they do not meet the required conditions. The decision is up to the Electoral Court.
Both stated, based on different calculations and arguments, that Arruda is ineligible due to the convictions imposed by the courts related to the Pandora's Box operation.
The plenary followed the position of the rapporteur of the processes, electoral judge Guilherme Pupe. In a long vote, the judge stated, among other points:
➡️That Arruda’s seven convictions for administrative misconduct are not all connected.
➡️And, therefore, it would not be possible to unify all ineligibility from the first conviction, in July 2014.
➡️With this, the count should start with the second conviction, in 2018; or in the most recent one, from June 2026. In either case, according to the rapporteur, the count would prevent candidacy in this year's elections.
In an appeal filed with the TSE, Arruda argues that the ineligibility starts to count from the 2014 conviction. As a result, even with the maximum period of 12 years of restriction of political rights, he has been eligible since June of this year.
The TSE's decision is final. The parties to the process can file so-called "embargoes", appeals that request clarifications or question specific points of the ruling and, in general, do not change the merit (content) of the decision.
An appeal to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) can only be presented based on an alleged offense against the Federal Constitution -- and not based on electoral legislation, for example.
Read more news about the region on g1 DF.
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