Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) on Tuesday will resume the trial of a lawsuit against former President Jair Bolsonaro that could disqualify him for an eight-year period and even lead to a prison sentence.
The analysis began on June 22 when the General Judge of Electoral Justice, Minister Benedito Gonçalves, read the full report summarizing the case.
Today’s session also begins with the presentation of Gonçalves, who must clarify preliminary questions before addressing the allegations made by the Partido Democrático Trabalhista (PDT).
Among these issues is the persistence of the so-called minute of the coup in the process.
This document was obtained in January following the seizure of the home of former Attorney General and former Secretary of Public Safety for the Federal District, Anderson Torres, during investigations into the January 8 coup operations in Brasilia.
After the rapporteur’s vote, it is the turn of Ministers Raúl Araújo, Floriano de Azevedo Marques, André Ramos Tavares, Vice-President of the TSE, Minister Carmen Lucía, Minister Nunes Marques and finally the President of the Court, Judge Alexandre von Moraes.
On the opening day of the trial, Assistant Attorney General for Elections Paulo Gonet defended Bolsonaro’s ineligibility, citing his disastrous performance in a meeting with ambassadors on July 18, 2022.
At this meeting, which was broadcast on public television, the then ruler denigrated the electoral system without presenting any evidence.
Speaking to some 40 foreign diplomats, the former army captain repeated unfounded and already denied suspicions about electronic ballot boxes and the electoral process.
He gave a lecture with misinformation about the modern electoral systems and suggested the involvement of the armed forces to fix bugs in the electoral system.
He questioned the integrity of the voting method and the ministers of the TSE and the federal court.
Given the facts, the PDT activated the TSE against Bolsonaro.
The party accused far-right politician and general Walter Braga Netto, who ran for vice president in October’s election, of allegedly abusing political power and abusive use of the media during the election campaign.
The court scheduled three sessions to analyze the process. In other words, in addition to Tuesday’s session, the court can continue Thursday’s hearing.
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