Election fines can be paid over up to 700 years.

247 - With no prospect of being able to settle debts from electoral fines accumulated over the years, party leaders say they intend to resort to the new installment payment rules approved in the political reform bill to renegotiate payments. The new law stipulates that the monthly installment cannot exceed 2% of the transfers from the Party Fund. In some cases, the installment plan can extend for up to 698 years, which, in practice, represents almost an "amnesty" for these debts.

According to a survey by the Attorney General's Office of the National Treasury (PGFN), conducted at the request of the State, the total amount of electoral debts registered as federal tax debt reaches R$ 81,4 million. The biggest debtor is the São Paulo branch of the PSB party, which has accumulated R$ 3,7 million in fines. If the new installment payment rule is applied based on what the party received from the Party Fund in 2016 – an average of R$ 380,2 per month – the fines could be paid off in more than 40 years, in 486 monthly installments of R$ 7,6.

The president of the PSB-SP party, the state's vice-governor Márcio França, admits that he will take advantage of the new law to settle the debt. "But we will only do so after a ruling on a nullity action that we are awaiting at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE)," he states. The party's argument is that the debt has expired, since the amount includes fines dating back to the 2004 municipal campaign, when the party launched federal deputy Luiza Erundina, now with PSOL, as a candidate.

Also included in the "top 5" of the biggest debtors are the Sergipe state directories of DEM (R$ 3,1 million) and PPS (R$ 2,9 million), in addition to the São Paulo state directories of PTB (R$ 2,4 million) and PSDB (R$ 1,8 million).

The information is from Report by Thiago Faria and Daiene Cardoso in Estado de S.Paulo.