TSE President Orders Garotinho Votes Counted Pending Plenary Decision

Overview

• A single-minister order by TSE minister Floriano de Azevedo Marques had on Friday removed Garotinho’s candidate prerogatives, limited his campaign access and directed that his votes be recorded as “anulados sub judice.”
• On Sunday, TSE president Kassio Nunes Marques declined Garotinho’s emergency request to suspend Floriano’s decision but explicitly ruled that votes cast for Garotinho must be included in the calculation of percentages until the TSE plenary decides.
• The president’s action followed his earlier Sunday decision to suspend a similar monocratic order against Deltan Dallagnol, a move that sources say has generated friction inside the TSE and prompted talk of challenges at the STF.
• Under TSE Resolution 23.677, votes labeled “anulados sub judice” are reported and counted in the percentage totals for majoritarian races while appeals are pending, but their final validity depends on the court’s later ruling.
• The inclusion or exclusion of Garotinho’s votes could immediately change whether the Rio contest needs a second round and the TRE-RJ president warned that a TSE invalidation would hand the race to Douglas Ruas, so the plenary’s prompt handling of the case is now decisive.