TRE-RJ suspends electoral advertising on radio and TV until the winner in the state is determined
Retotaling will take place on Saturday (10), at 3pm. The initial result will be announced immediately, but there will still be a deadline for objections before the final proclamation.
By Mariana Queiroz, RJ2
The president of the Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro (TRE-RJ), Cláudio de Mello Tavares, ordered this Thursday (8) the suspension of electoral advertising on radio and television until the result of the election for governor of the state is officially defined.
The decision comes after the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) ordered the annulment of the 274,411 votes received by Anthony Garotinho (Republicans) in the first round. The measure could change the result of the dispute and lead to the victory of Douglas Ruas (PL) in the first round, without a new vote against Eduardo Paes (PSD).
"I determined today that advertising be suspended on radio and television. From today onwards it cannot be carried out until the end of the result", stated Cláudio de Mello Tavares.
According to the president of TRE-RJ, the suspension avoids expenses with electoral hours while the definitive result is not proclaimed.
"Especially because there cannot be public spending. So we obviously have to wait for the final result," he said.
Douglas Ruas — Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo
Retotaling will be on Saturday at 3pm
This Thursday, TRE-RJ published a notice calling on federations, coalitions, political parties, the Public Electoral Ministry and the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) to monitor the retotalization of votes, scheduled for Saturday (10), at 3pm.
According to Cláudio de Mello Tavares, the result will be released immediately after the retotalization. However, the definitive proclamation of the winner will depend on compliance with legal deadlines and the analysis of any questions.
"A notice was published today calling on the federations, the political party coalition, electoral MP, and the OAB to attend if they wish next Saturday at 3pm. at that moment, obviously, the result will be given. but there will be deadlines for challenges and the final result will be proclaimed at the moment the full court meets to disclose. in this case, the components of the TRE", stated the president.
Parties will be able to contest the result
After the retotalization result is announced, there will be a period of three days in which it will be publicly available. Then, a two-day period will be opened for the presentation of possible objections by parties, federations and other legitimate parties.
The questions will be analyzed by the TRE-RJ plenary, made up of seven judges. After this stage, the court must approve the result and officially proclaim the winner.
Annulment could define election in the first round
In the first round, held on Sunday (4), Douglas Ruas received 4,271,199 votes, equivalent to 49.27% of the votes computed in the total released by the TSE. Eduardo Paes came in second place, with 3,706,984 votes (42.76%).
Garotinho received 274,411 votes (3.17%). As his candidacy had been rejected, the votes were initially recorded as annulled sub judice, while the appeal was still awaiting judgment at the TSE.
On Thursday, the TSE decided to maintain the rejection of the candidacy and ordered the votes to be annulled. With the removal of these votes from the calculation base, the proportion of valid votes will be recalculated, which could lead Ruas to exceed 50% and be declared the winner in the first round.
Eduardo Paes' coalition announced that it will appeal to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to try to guarantee the second round. The defense maintains that Garotinho's votes should continue to be considered to calculate whether any candidate reached the absolute majority required to win in the first round.
Until the completion of the steps foreseen by the Electoral Court, the definitive result of the election for governor of Rio de Janeiro still depends on the retotalization and analysis of possible challenges.
