Debora Zampier Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília – Election rules in Brazil are made by judges on the Electoral Board (“Tribunal Superior Eleitoral – TSE”). Yesterday Marina Silva requested registeration of her candidacy for president of Brazil for the PV (Green) party pursuant to TSE rules. She went to the TSE and here is what she did.

Marina and the PV candidate for vice president, Guilherme Leal, left their documents at the TSE. The documents: a certified list of property and goods (Marina is worth R$148,000, Leal (a businessman in the cosmetics sector) is worth R$1.19 billion; certificates certifying that at the federal, state and municipal levels neither one has a criminal record (“Ficha Limpo”); a document laying out their plans for governing the country; a copy of the minutes of the political party convention that nominated them; a certificate certifying that they have voted regularly in elections (in Brazil voting is mandatory so everyone has a voting card that is marked at each election); proof that they actually belong to the political party that nominated them; photos, a copy of their voting card (“titulo eleitoral”) and a written authorization for the registration. 

After leaving that pile of papers at the TSE, Marina and Guilherme are still not officially candidates. The pile of papers will be examined by an electoral judge (“ministro responsável”) and if everything is in order the candidacy will be approved (“receber o aval”).

Campaigning officially begins next week. But before that all the other candidates will have to deliver documents to the TSE. As the TSE has accepted the registration of 17 political parties, it is possible to have 17 candidates for president of Brazil. Fortunately, only 11 have declared that they will run so far. And it is quite possible that at least two of them, from small parties, will resign from the race. Even so, that makes for a field of nine candidates. And many piles of papers.

Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English
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