The Electoral Attorney General’s Office (PGE) defended in the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) the revocation of the mandate of the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Claúdio Castro, his vice president, Thiago Pamplona, and state deputy Rodrigo da Silva Bacellar. The opinion was sent this Thursday (6) to the court.
The prosecutor’s statement was part of an appeal in which the body intends to reverse the decision of the Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro (TRE-RJ) which, in May this year, acquitted Castro and other accused in the process that deals with alleged irregular hiring at the State Center for Statistics, Research and Training of Public Servants of Rio de Janeiro (Ceperj) and the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj) during the 2022 electoral campaign.
The accusations are also endorsed by the campaign of Marcelo Freixo, candidate for state government in 2022. The coalition filed an appeal with the TRE to revoke Castro’s ticket.
In the document sent to the TSE, the electoral deputy attorney general, Alexandre Espinosa, states that Castro obtained an electoral advantage in hiring temporary employees without legal protection and in the decentralization of resources to entities unrelated to public administration, in addition to other irregularities.
For Espinosa, Castro and the other defendants should have their mandates revoked.
“The evidence in the case authorizes the recognition of the practice of abuse of political and economic power, with sufficient severity to undermine the legitimacy of the claim, in order to determine the revocation of the diploma of the investigated Cláudio Castro, Thiago Pampolha Gonçalves and Rodrigo da Silva Bacelar , declaring ineligibility for a period of eight years”, says the opinion.
The case is reported at the TSE by minister Isabel Galotti. There is no set date for the trial.
In a statement, Cláudio Castro declared that he is “calm and confident in Justice. According to him, the TRE rejected the action due to “total inconsistency and lack of evidence”. Brazil Agency seeks contact with others involved. The space is open for manifestation.
