"I am not in a position to support João da Costa."

Leonardo Lucena_PE247 – Still showing great indignation at the result of the PT primaries last Sunday (20), state secretary Maurício Rands declared that there is no chance whatsoever of him supporting the current mayor, João da Costa, if the PCR commander is officially declared the winner of the process. This is because, according to the aide to Governor Eduardo Campos (PSB), there was “dirty trickery”, since people ineligible to vote had their votes counted in the internal dispute. Which, according to the pre-candidate, violated the party statute.

“I cannot support João da Costa in any way. A person who undermines democracy and the party's statutes does not deserve any support,” declared Maurício Rands. It's worth noting that former mayor and current federal deputy, João Paulo (PT), João da Costa's main political rival, has also revealed that he will not campaign for the current Recife mayor if he is officially nominated as the PT candidate for the municipal elections in October.

Maurício Rands also said that the result of the primaries will not "stand" and that after the PT's National Directorate makes a final decision, his (Rands') faction will decide the paths to be taken. "This primary had a forged list, with false information. People who weren't from the PT voted. People who hadn't paid their dues were eligible to vote," he denounced.

Former Secretary of Legal Affairs and coordinator of Rands' campaign, Cláudio Ferreira, assured that there will be no legal action taken in the process. "We will not appeal to the courts. We will wait for the National Executive to decide what procedures will be taken," Ferreira clarified.

Unlike the 2009 elections for municipal, state, and national president of the PT (Workers' Party), which were marked by infighting and accusations of alleged irregularities, Oscar Barreto and Jorge Perez were elected municipal and state presidents, respectively. Barreto was supported by former mayor João Paulo, who was also campaigning for Fernando Ferro in the state election. The other candidate for municipal president of the PT, Rosano Carvalho, the party's current secretary general, had the backing of Senator Humberto Costa, who also supported Jorge Perez, currently out of office, in the state election.

But, on that occasion, the clash didn't last long. Today, after the primaries, the fights continue and there have already been two postponements for the final announcement of the result. First, it was supposed to be on the 28th, now it may be on the 31st. In fact, accusations of fraud in internal elections have been marking the Workers' Party, which could "split" the party itself, considerably reducing the chances of good political coordination among the PT members and even with other parties in the government's base. After all, good governance cannot be achieved without at least a reasonable relationship with other political parties.