Garotinho’s campaign remains on the ballot, but his votes face a legal limbo

Garotinho’s campaign remains on the ballot, but his votes face a legal limbo
A justice of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Floriano de Azevedo Marques, has revoked the injunction that had allowed former Rio de Janeiro governor Anthony Garotinho to continue campaigning for governor. The decision leaves his name on electronic voting machines but orders ballots cast for him to be treated as null while his candidacy registration remains denied.

Accounts of the ruling agree on its immediate effect: Garotinho loses access to party and campaign funds and cannot use free electoral broadcasting. They also agree that the registration dispute itself has not been finally decided, meaning he may still appeal and his name will remain on the ballot.

The central contrast lies in what each account foregrounds. One report emphasizes Garotinho’s legal argument: his defense says the suspension of his political rights following an administrative-improbity conviction began in 2018 rather than in 2025, when the case became final. On that reading, the period of ineligibility would already have been served. The TSE plenary has not yet ruled on that appeal.

The same account stresses the court’s concern with administration of the vote. Floriano cited the need to avoid “voter uncertainty and instability in the election” in reversing the earlier protections. The Rio regional electoral court had unanimously rejected Garotinho’s registration, and Floriano sought the case file as voting neared.

The other report focuses more closely on the electoral consequences. It notes that votes annulled while judicially under review can affect the declaration of a winner in a majoritarian race if they could change the outcome. Citing a Datafolha survey, it says Garotinho had 8% of valid votes; excluding that share could lift Eduardo Paes to 51%, enough for a first-round victory under that projection. The final effect, however, depends on the vote count and the eventual judicial treatment of the contested ballots.

Neither report records an official response from Garotinho’s campaign.

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