By Ricardo Luiz
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), the country's highest court, has shut the door on the PSD in the race for governor of Rio de Janeiro. Justice Cristiano Zanin rejected the party's lawsuit, which sought to guarantee a runoff after the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) annulled the 274,000 first-round votes received by Anthony Garotinho of the Republicanos party. The ruling hits the camp of Eduardo Paes and leaves the Rio election even more tangled in the courts.
The PSD's argument for a Rio runoff
The party argued that votes cast for candidates with pending legal problems should count toward the absolute majority that decides whether a second round is needed. In the PSD's view, the later annulment of those votes could not harm voters or change the calculation that determines whether a new round is required.
That argument was never examined on its merits.
Zanin: wrong legal tool
The justice found that the PSD used the wrong legal instrument. Zanin identified an "improper use of the ADPF as a substitute for an appeal." In plain terms, the party tried to turn a Claim of Non-Compliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF) into a parallel appeal, a shortcut the justice did not accept.
In dismissing the case, Zanin also noted that other avenues remain open in the dispute and that the ADPF cannot preempt their analysis.
The fight continues at the TSE
Two motions for clarification (embargos de declaração) are still pending at the TSE. One was filed by voters, who ask that the annulled votes be included and that a runoff be held. The other was filed by Eduardo Paes's coalition and asks for clarification on the concept of a null vote in the Constitution.
According to Zanin, the dispute could reach the Supreme Court through an extraordinary appeal. In other words, the final chapter may still be written at the STF, but only after the TSE rules.
What happens next
The next step is the TSE's judgment on the motions. The outcome will determine whether the annulment of the 274,000 votes stands as it is and whether Rio will have a second round. Until then, the election remains under legal uncertainty.
Why it matters
In Brazilian elections, a runoff is held when no candidate wins an absolute majority of valid votes. That is why the treatment of the annulled votes could decide whether Rio de Janeiro, one of the country's key states, goes to a second round. The PSD is the party backing Paes in this dispute.
VDD Analysis
Nearly 274,000 voters went to the polls and had their votes annulled after the election, and it is natural for society to demand clarity about the rules of the game. The PSD's setback at the STF was procedural, and the case never reached the merits, but it exposes the insecurity of deciding the validity of votes after an election. For those who defend freedom and respect for the voter's will, the Electoral Courts should resolve the issue quickly and with transparent criteria, before doubt erodes confidence in the result.
