Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is one vote away from being disqualified for the next eight years, in the Sentence of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which was suspended on Thursday and returns, for probable conclusion, this Friday.
So far, three judges have voted in favor of Jair Bolsonaro’s ineligibility and one voted against. The trial returns this Friday at 12:00 local time (4:00 p.m. in Lisbon).
Judges Floriano de Azevedo Marques and André Ramos Tavares consider that the former president committed abuse of power and political and media use during a meeting with ambassadors in July 2022, in the middle of the electoral campaign.
Floriano de Azevedo Marques considered that Jair Bolsonaro “used his skills as head of state” to profit politically, in a “clear electoral speech.”
André Ramos Tavares stressed that Bolsonaro made “baseless attacks and lies” and manipulated “reality”.
For his part, Judge Raúl Araújo affirmed that “in a democracy there should be no limits to the fundamental right to doubt”, justifying the vote against, adding that “every citizen is free to doubt”.
On Tuesday, the TSE judge and rapporteur of the action against Jair Bolsonaro, Benedito Gonçalves, had already voted for the disqualification.
The four judges who have already voted acquitted Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s vice-presidential candidate.
Before the start of the trial this Thursday, defense attorney Tarcísio Vieira de Carvalho Neto, questioned by Lusa, declared that in case of defeat he would resort to the TSE or the Federal Supreme Court.
The deadline to appeal is three days, but with the closure of the higher courts in July, Bolsonaro’s team will have until early August to prepare the appeal.
An amparo is still being studied so that Jair Bolsonaro can stand in the 2024 municipal elections, if that is his wish, the lawyer explained.
Jair Bolsonaro is accused of abuse of political power and misuse of the media during a meeting that the then Brazilian head of state organized, in the middle of the electoral campaign, with foreign ambassadors at the Alvorada Palace, the President’s official residence in Brasilia , on July 18, 2022.
At this meeting, Jair Bolsonaro launched several unfounded attacks on the reliability of the electoral process and, more precisely, of the electronic ballot boxes, used since 1996 and validated by various international organizations, and the same ones that elected him for several terms as a federal deputy. deputy and president.
The former Brazilian president did not attend the plenary session of the TSE.
Source: TSF
