Minister André Mendonça (photo), of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), voted this Tuesday (11) to revoke the mandate of the governor of Roraima, Antonio Denariumand the vice, Edilson Damião, for abuse of power in the 2022 elections.
With the minister’s understanding, the score for impeachment is 2 votes to 0. However, the trial was once again suspended due to a request for review, which was made by Minister Nunes Marques. There is no date for resumption.
The TSE judges an appeal filed by the governor’s defense.
In 2023, the Regional Electoral Court of Roraima (TRE-RR) revoked Denarium’s mandate and his deputy for understanding that there was illegality in the distribution of basic food baskets and benefits for home renovation during the election year.
In August last year, the rapporteur of the process, minister Maria Isabel Galotti, also voted to impeach the governor. Then, André Mendonça requested a review of the process and suspended the trial, which was resumed in this evening’s session.
When voting on the issue, Mendonça said that the expansion of the Family Basket Program and the improper execution of the Morar Melhor Program, in the year of the elections, characterized conduct prohibited by electoral legislation.
“The addition of 40 thousand families served has the potential to impact the election, even at the state level, especially given the multiplier effect on voters”, he stated.
According to Mendonça’s vote, the governor and his deputy must leave office immediately and new elections must be called.
According to the TSE’s internal regulations, Nunes Marques has a period of 60 days to return the case for judgment. However, the Judiciary goes into recess on December 19th and returns to work in February 2026. This way, the case will be judged again months before the general elections in October.
During the process, the governor’s defense requested the annulment of the decision that revoked the mandate and said that there were no irregularities in the distribution of benefits. According to lawyers, there was no creation of new social programs, but the bringing together of existing ones.
