Senate approves open vote for expulsions.

The Senate Agency - The Federal Senate approved this Tuesday (26), with changes, the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 43/2013, the so-called Open Vote PEC, which ended all possibilities of secret voting within the Legislative Branch. The base text had 58 votes in favor and 4 against. Thus, according to the Senate Plenary's decision, voting in the processes of impeachment of parliamentarians and in the examination of presidential vetoes must be open. According to the president of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, this part of the PEC, which originated in the Chamber of Deputies, can proceed to promulgation, depending on the understanding of the Board of that House.

On the other hand, when voting in the second round on the Open Vote Amendment, senators decided that deliberations on the selection of authorities – which is an exclusive function of the Federal Senate – will remain confidential. The part of the text that prohibited all secret votes in the Brazilian legislature was also rejected. These two sections may proceed to further review in the Chamber of Deputies.

This splitting of the vote occurred because the senators accepted two requests for separate votes presented by Senator Romero Jucá (PMDB-RR), meaning they voted on parts of the proposed constitutional amendment separately. The vote was tumultuous, with a very divided plenary session.

Senators such as Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB-DF) and Walter Pinheiro (PT-BA) argued that all votes in the Brazilian Legislative Branch should be public and tried to prevent the proposal from being split into parts.

"It's pointless for the Senate to fulfill its role under the Access to Information Law if voters can't know how the Senate president votes on matters when they reach the plenary session," Pinheiro stated.

The representative from the PSB party in the Federal District stated that the population has the right to know how their parliamentarians vote.

- The Federal Senate cannot be an institution that hides behind the secret ballot. The population wants to participate - said Rollemberg, with the support of senators such as Paulo Paim (PT-RS), Mário Couto (PSDB-PA) and Alvaro Dias (PSDB-PR).

Senator Jáder Barbalho (PMDB-PA), in turn, argued that some votes should remain secret in order to preserve the institution of the Federal Senate.

"I, who come from the time of confronting the military dictatorship, at this point in my public life, defend the principle that this institution should not be subject to surveillance," declared Jáder.

The leader of the PSDB party, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira (SP), agreed that some voting methods should remain secret, such as the nomination of officials.

"To maintain the balance of power, I also vote no in the selection of authorities," he emphasized.

Regiment

Before the actual voting on the PEC (Proposed Constitutional Amendment) began, senators spent more than two hours debating whether the Senate's Rules of Procedure allowed for the presentation of amendments in the second round of voting on a proposed constitutional amendment. The question was raised by Senator Rodrigo Rollemberg. According to him, using amendments to make changes to PECs is against the rules.

Renan Calheiros, however, opposed the request from the PSB senator. According to the Senate president, the consideration of the requests "is normal, procedural and constitutional, since the request for a separate vote is a voting procedure and not an amendment procedure." The discussion involved other senators.

In defense of Rollemberg, the Minority Leader, Mário Couto (PSDB-PA), said that the right to appeal is inalienable. "As the minority leader, I have to protect the minority. And I will not let a bulldozer run over the minority," said Couto. Senator Jarbas Vasconcelos (PMDB-PE) also expressed his support for the amendments.

"We have to see how far open voting can be exercised. We cannot vote on certain matters under the influence of public opinion. I support open voting on certain issues and not on others," he argued.

After intense debates, Rodrigo Rollemberg decided to withdraw the questions, thus preventing the text from being sent back to the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ) for analysis, and the amendments were finally voted on. The only amendment defeated, by 31 votes to 29, was the one concerning presidential vetoes.

As it stands, the PEC ultimately establishes open voting for the removal of parliamentary mandates and the review of vetoes. Following the PEC vote, Senator Pedro Taques (PDT-MT) also expressed his understanding that the text approved this Tuesday by the senators also guarantees open voting for the selection of members of the Boards throughout the Legislative Branch.