PSD gains another district representative in Brasília.
The party led by Rogério Rosso gains two deputies from DEM; Eliana Pedrosa had already announced that she would join the new party; next Raad Massouh
Priscila Mesquita_Brasília247 – The PSD, a new party being organized by the mayor of São Paulo, Gilberto Kassab, is gaining strength in the Federal District. After district deputy Eliana Pedrosa confirmed her switch from DEM to PSD, another Democrat is expected to leave the party: also a district deputy, Raad Massouh, elected in 2010 with 17.997 votes and whose electoral base is mainly concentrated in Sobradinho.
Conversations between him and the new party began last year, with Kassab and other national leaders of the party. With the appointment of former governor Rogério Rosso to head the party in the DF, they were resumed and should be finalized between this Tuesday (6) and Wednesday (7).
Also weighing on Raad's decision was an attitude from the president of the DEM party, former congressman Alberto Fraga, reported by Brasília 247 last week. In a speech during a PSDB event, Fraga criticized Eliana and Raad and said he could no longer count on the two Democratic district representatives. Regarding Raad, Fraga was more incisive: he said that he had sold himself to the government of Agnelo Queiroz, contradicting the party's position, which is in opposition.
Asked about the outcome of the negotiations with Raad, Rosso preferred to maintain the discretion with which he has been conducting the talks. He only said that "Congressman Raad is a big name in politics in the Federal District, who would certainly bring great honor to the PSD party locally and in Brazil." Congressman Raad did not comment.
Eliana Pedrosa and Raad Massouh had many disagreements as party colleagues, but the expectation now, with both joining the PSD, is that this will end. Advisors for both believe that pragmatism and political intelligence will unite them, as their political projects for 2014 will be different. Raad is expected to run for another term as a district representative, while Eliana has already stated that she intends to aim higher.
Register
On Monday night (5), the Regional Electoral Court of the DF denied the registration of the PSD in Brasília, alleging that the party had not established zonal bodies. Rosso's decision, guided by advisors and lawyers, will be not to appeal to the Superior Electoral Court. The PSD will establish the zonal bodies, as the TRE wants, and Rosso believes that this will be done in, at most, a week. "Despite having disagreements regarding the court's decision, I will comply with it," he assured.
The disagreement arises because, according to the Regional Electoral Court (TRE), the Federal District (DF) was considered equivalent to a state, and the electoral zones were treated as municipalities. Rosso has already done the calculations and will set up electoral districts in more locations than required by law, similar to what he did with the signatures he needed to collect. He managed to gather around 7, when the minimum required was 1.400.
According to the legislation, 5% of the municipalities in the state must have established electoral zones to obtain registration. In the Federal District, there are 21 electoral zones, and Rosso needs to set up the structures in 5% of them. In his assessment, not appealing and complying with the TRE's request will be faster. The expectation for the announcement of the party's national registration is also imminent: it should occur around September 20th.