The deadline for federal, state and district deputies to change parties without losing their mandate ends today (1º), at the end of the day, with the end of the so-called “party window”, which was open for 30 days, since March 3.
This year, one of the parties that received the most parliamentarians was the PL, to which President Jair Bolsonaro joined to run in the elections. The party received more than 20 deputies and on the eve of the deadline, it closed the day with 69 seats in the Chamber, becoming the largest party bench.
The migration to the PL included those who were unhappy with the merger between DEM and PSL, which resulted in União Brasil, a party that at the time of creation reached to have 81 deputies, but that until yesterday (31) was with 52 parliamentarians.
Among those who migrated from the Union to the PL are deputies Eduardo Bolsonaro (SP), Bia Kicis (DF), General Girão (RN), Carlos Jordy (RJ) and Carla Zambelli (SP).
A few hours before the end of the party window, the Monday The largest bench in the Chamber continues to be the PT, which so far has 53 deputies. Among the six largest groups are also the PP (49), the Republicans (44) and the PSD (41). The numbers could still change until the end of the day.
Understand
The so-called “party window” opens for 30 days each electoral cycle, allowing for a change of party without this implying party infidelity and consequent loss of mandate.
The period of one month is provided for in the Elections Law (Law 9.504/1997, Article 93-A). According to the legislation, the window opens every election year, always six months before the election. This year, the party change period was open from 3 of seaon the 1st of April.
The window was regulated and inserted into the electoral calendar in the 2015 mini-reform, to allow for the relocation of party forces before the test at the polls.
The movements serve as a thermometer of the candidacies, indicating the reading that each parliamentarian makes of the electoral landscape and the polls of voting intentions.
This year, only the deputies could change their acronym. This is because in 2018 the TSE established that only the legislator who is at the end of his term is entitled to enjoy the party window. In this way, the current councilors will only be able to change their legend before the next municipal elections, in 2024.
The party window is one of the only possibilities for deputies to change clubs during their term of office. The others are: the creation of an acronym; end or merger of the party; deviation from the party program or serious personal discrimination. Any change of legend that does not fit these reasons may lead to the loss of the mandate.
Since the party window was created, 275 exchanges of captions have been registered between deputies with current mandates, according to data released by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), not counting this year’s.
