Brazil's Attorney General's Office (AGU) is demanding R$ 2,7 million from ousted mayors to cover new elections.

AGU The Attorney General's Office (AGU) is demanding the return of over R$ 2,7 million to public coffers, spent by the Electoral Courts on new elections resulting from the removal of mayors in various municipalities across the country. This amount doubled a year and a half after the Attorney General, Minister Luís Inácio Adams, and the then-president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, signed a technical cooperation agreement guaranteeing the exchange of information between the bodies regarding mayors who were removed from office for illegal acts committed during the electoral process.

A survey by the Department of Assets and Administrative Probity of the Attorney General's Office (DPP/PGU) indicates that lawyers are keeping a close eye on improper expenses. To date, 51 lawsuits seeking reimbursement have been filed. Another 37 are being finalized for filing in Federal Court in the coming days. Six settlements have also been reached. In total, 94 cases are being monitored.

According to the Attorney General's Office (AGU), the lawsuits are against mayors who lost their mandates because they were convicted of crimes such as illegal vote buying and abuse of political and/or economic power. The funds will reimburse the Union for the expenses incurred in holding new elections. According to Article 224 of the Electoral Code, whenever an elected candidate receives more than half of the valid votes in an election, the remaining votes are invalidated, consequently annulling the entire election. Therefore, a new election is necessary.

According to Renato Dantas, Director of the Department of Public Assets and Administrative Probity at the Attorney General's Office (AGU), the measure is educational in nature and aims to deter mayors from continuing to commit illegal acts. "They need to be aware that they will have to reimburse the public coffers for all expenses related to the new elections held due to a fraudulent act that consequently led to their removal from office," he emphasized.

Considering the lawsuits that are being finalized and will be filed soon, the state of Minas Gerais has the highest number of reimbursement requests. There are 21 cases seeking to recover R$ 281.848,33 for public coffers. However, with only six lawsuits, Pará is the state where lawyers are trying to obtain the largest amount. In that state, more than half a million reais should return to the Union's coffers to cover the costs of new elections.

Individually, the largest restitution request comes from an election held in the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, in Rio de Janeiro. The former officials will have to return more than R$ 250. On the other hand, some states, such as Amapá and Roraima, for example, have no lawsuits filed or in the final stages of completion.

Agreements

To date, six agreements have been reached. Two of them were made without the need to file a lawsuit. This is because, before filing a claim for reimbursement, the Attorney General's Office sends a settlement proposal to the debtor so that they can settle the debt without having to face a legal dispute. This measure also allows for payment in installments. Four other agreements were also made, but in these cases, during the course of the lawsuit. The Union managed to recover R$ 104.839,75.

For the Attorney General's Office (AGU) to proceed with the collection, it is necessary that the Electoral Court has issued a final decision convicting the former manager of an electoral crime. The case is then forwarded to the Union's lawyers to analyze the possibility of requesting restitution.

The DPP is a unit of the Attorney General's Office, an agency of the Attorney General of the Union (AGU).

Uyara Kamayurá