With 13 votes, Susana goes to the TCE (Court of Accounts); otherwise, Belivaldo appeals to the courts.

Sergipe 247 – The election of the new State Court of Auditors (TCE) advisor continues to generate much controversy. The vote that took place in October of last year was questioned in court. A new election is scheduled to take place this Monday (3) in the Legislative Assembly. But under new rules. This is because the deputies approved changes to the law at the end of April, which could put the dispute sub judice again.

If the opposition candidate, state representative Susana Azevedo (PSC), who won the first election, does not obtain 13 votes (half the votes of the 24 parliamentarians plus one vote, as defined by the previous law), the candidate from the ruling bloc, the Secretary of State for Education, Belivaldo Chagas, promises to appeal to the courts. As he did the first time. He does not accept that the new election will take place under recently altered rules.

In an interview this Monday morning on the program “A Hora da Verdade”, Belivaldo suggested that Susana resign from her position as a congresswoman so that her substitute, Gilmar Carvalho (PR), can take her place and legitimately participate in the election.

Last year, he participated in the voting, but as a substitute, since Susana requested a 125-day leave of absence on the day of the first election. This was one of the points brought before the court. But not only that: the election for council member, which had always been by open vote in the Assembly, was held by secret ballot. That was the second issue taken to the Court of Justice.

In the new vote, which could take place this Monday, the opposition wants to enforce a resolution approved just over a month ago that stipulated that the choice of the new council member should be made by majority vote (whoever has the most votes wins, regardless of the number of voters) and no longer by the previous model (only those who get 13 votes become a council member). And that's where it gets complicated.

Belivaldo says the new election will have to follow the old system. The opposition leader, state deputy Venâncio Fonseca (PP), believes the vote must be governed by the new rules. The ruling party agrees with the Secretary of Education. They are even considering the possibility of leaving the plenary during the vote if the previous law is not considered.

The Assembly session this Monday takes place in the afternoon. Until then, behind-the-scenes conversations will continue uninterrupted. Only during the session will some questions be answered: Will the Board of Directors, led by state deputy Angélica Guimarães (PSC), create a new legal challenge? Will the opposition have the 13 votes needed to elect Susana? Would she risk resigning her seat as a deputy before the voting results, as Belivaldo suggested?

Had the political break between the two main political groups in Sergipe not occurred in February of last year, the Secretary of Education would already be the TCE (Court of Accounts) advisor in the vacancy left by Isabel Nabuco. His selection dates back to the 2010 electoral agreements, when Belivaldo did not run for re-election as vice-governor to Marcelo Déda (PT) to make room for Eduardo Amorim (PSC), who ran for (and was elected to) the Senate, in the position on the government ticket that would have been held by Jackson Barreto (PMDB), who was then appointed vice-governor. With the change in the state's political direction, the pro-Belivaldo agreement was ignored.