This Thursday, the 14th, the Chamber of Deputies concluded the approval of the electoral mini-reform, a project that modifies the electoral code, the law on clean criminal records and weakens electoral transparency and accountability. In addition to shortening the ineligibility terms of revoked candidates, the approved text promises a “generalized dissolution” of advertising and electoral expenses with cross-advertising between parties that are neither federated nor affiliated.
Acronyms can finance each other’s campaigns, meaning that a candidate for MP from one party can stand together with a candidate from another party, even if they are rivals. For example, shared ads will be allowed for candidates from the PT, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the PL, Jair Bolsonaro.
The vote was divided into two parts: one completed on Wednesday the 13th and the other yesterday. In the first, the Chamber approved with 367 votes in favour, 86 against and one abstention. Yesterday the Chamber voted 345 yes, 55 no. One deputy abstained. The issue, which had only an opposite orientation compared to Novo and PSOL, now goes to the Senate before being sanctioned or vetoed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The approved text also modifies the rules for calculating the time necessary to prevent a convicted politician from participating in elections and sets the term at eight years. Under the current rule, a congressman who is now impeached in the House is ineligible for the remainder of his term and for another eight consecutive years. If he is punished in the first year of his term, for example, he will be ineligible for 11 years. According to the mini-reform, this period of ineligibility would be only eight years after conviction.
2024
The project also makes the period of ineligibility more flexible in the case of presidents, governors and mayors who resign from their offices. The new text says that the eight-year period starts from the date of resignation. Currently the period runs from what would be the end of the mandate.
In addition to ineligibility and cross-advertising, the approved text also provides for the forfeiture period, i.e. the period necessary for some professions to leave their positions in order to apply. In the current model the expiry can vary from four to six months. The text sets the period at one semester.
In just under two months the Chamber formed a working group that produced the two projects approved urgently this week. The deputies hope that the mini-reform will be sanctioned by October 6 this year so that it can be valid for the 2024 municipal elections.
The president of the Working Group that gave rise to the projects is Dani Cunha (União Brasil-RJ), daughter of the former president of the Chamber Eduardo Cunha, whose mandate was revoked in 2016. The rapporteur is Rubens Pereira Júnior (PT – BUT). Civil society organizations protested the speed of discussion on the mini-reform and highlighted problems that will weaken transparency.
The União Brasil has asked to add to the text of the mini-reform an excerpt that could provide for amnesty for the old debts of political parties. Unlike the proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC) proposed by Amnesty – which is also being developed in the House and which could forgive up to R$23 billion in party debts, according to the entities’ calculations – all the parties were contrary. “If we approve this fact, we will give a bad image to Brazilian society through party fines,” said Cabo MP Gilberto Silva (PL-PB).
Collective mandates
In a defeat for the government, the opposition overturned, with an amendment, the existence of collective mandates, which consist in the division of a parliamentary mandate between several people.
The most controversial amendment between the parties concerns the division of the surpluses. The original text intends to report the 100/10 model. The remaining are vacant positions to be filled after having defined the candidates elected by the party quotient in the Legislature, defined on the basis of a calculation of the averages.
In this model, the candidate needs a minimum requirement of 10% of the electoral quorum both in the first phase of seat distribution and ignores the exclusion clause. The party must have 100%.
Smaller parties argue that this could exclude them from the dispute, as they may have individual candidates with significant votes, unlike the party – especially PSOL, Novo and Podemos protested. “It’s a huge deal,” said Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ). The current model, 80/20, would make their lives easier in competition. The 100/10 model has thrived, despite outcry from smaller subs. The proposal is defended by the President of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).
The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paolo.
Source: Terra
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