Paim: secret voting in Parliament is a disgrace.

The Senate Agency - The secret ballot in Parliament is a disgrace to democracy. The statement was made on Monday night (5) by Senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS), in an interview with Agência Senado. He is the author of Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 50/2006, which extends open voting to all voting modalities in the Plenary.

According to the senator, the secret nature of the vote is only justified for the benefit of the citizen. He points out that in the National Congress, the parliamentarian represents the citizen, to whom they must be accountable. One way of providing this accountability would be through transparency in voting.

"I am radically opposed to secret voting, in all situations," declared the senator.

Examples

Paulo Paim pointed out that the legislative assemblies of states such as São Paulo, the Federal District, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, and Minas Gerais have already abolished secret voting. Furthermore, he noted that in the Supreme Federal Court (STF), voting is open, including being broadcast on television. He added that the Presidency of the Republic is obligated to provide transparency regarding its positions, including publishing the reasons for a veto in the Official Gazette of the Union.

Paim also said that in several municipalities, council members no longer have the option of secret voting, and he pointed out that in the United States, even the selection of Supreme Court justices is done by open ballot.

Support

Paim admitted that many of his colleagues are not opposed to open voting, but fear some kind of retaliation, such as in the case of vetoes or the appointment of authorities. Paim argues, however, that "a public figure must present themselves and not be afraid," if they are acting correctly. For the senator, parliamentarians need to be accountable for their positions and should not be ashamed of their vote. He recalled that he has been in the National Congress for 26 years and that his first proposal, while still in the National Constituent Assembly, dealt with open voting in Parliament.

"I didn't understand, and the population still doesn't understand, how there isn't open voting in Congress," he stated.

Paim expressed hope for support for his proposal. Earlier, in the Plenary, Senator Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB-DF) suggested several topics as priority agenda items for the Senate in the second half of the year. Paim's proposal was among these suggestions. According to Paim, the proposal has broad popular support, as evidenced by various opinion polls. He said he hopes that the opinion of the majority of the population will be respected in Parliament.

"Anyone of good character cannot be against it," said the senator.