TRE-RJ rejects Garotinho's appeal and maintains rejection of candidacy

Unanimously, the judges rejected, this Tuesday (29), Garotinho's appeal that asked the Court to re-evaluate omissions and contradictions in the decision of the 16th that barred his candidacy.

At the time, the magistrates' main argument was that Garotinho's political rights are suspended until 2033 due to a conviction for administrative misconduct. He maintains that he has already served his eight-year suspension since August 1st of this year.

Garotinho's defense informed that it will appeal against the TRE's decision at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

The candidate will have a name, photo and will be able to receive votes from voters at the ballot box, but whether they are validated or not will still depend on a definitive decision at the TSE.

In a note, the TRE explained that “votes received by candidates who had their registration rejected and still have an appeal pending judgment at the Superior Electoral Court are considered annulled sub judice.

If the decision denying registration is later reversed, the votes may be validated. If the rejection becomes definitive, the votes will not be considered valid for the candidate or candidate”, says an excerpt.

In this scenario, if there is no TSE decision in favor of Garotinho by Sunday, his votes will not be validated. What's more: if any other candidate reaches more than 50% of the votes in the first round, they will be considered elected.

But if Garotinho receives the most votes, the announcement of the result will still depend on the TSE granting his candidacy registration.

If there are two candidates with the highest number of votes, the second round takes place. If the Superior Electoral Court grants Garotinho's candidacy after the start of a second round in which he had the votes to participate, a new election would be necessary.

The rule was established in a 2021 Electoral Court resolution and updated in 2024. This year, the TRE received 2,055 candidacies for state and federal deputies, senator and governor. Of these, 65 had their registrations rejected due to lack of eligibility.