TSE: Mini-reform does not apply to the 2014 elections.
Most ministers understood that the rule, sanctioned by President Dilma Rousseff last December, will only apply to the 2016 elections, as it should have come into effect in October 2013; the sanctioned text prohibits the substitution of candidates less than 20 days before the elections and requires the publication of minutes of party conventions on the internet within 24 hours.
André Richter - Reporter for Agência Brasil - The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided yesterday (24) that Law No. 12.891/2013, known as the mini-electoral reform, will not apply to the October elections. The majority of ministers understood that the rule, sanctioned by President Dilma Rousseff in December of last year, will only apply to the next elections, as it should have come into force in October 2013, one year before the elections.
The TSE (Superior Electoral Court) understood that the rule cannot be applied because the electoral process has already begun, with the party conventions.
Furthermore, the court's resolutions, which defined the election rules, have already been approved. With this decision, the mini-reform is suspended and can only be applied in the 2016 elections.
According to the court, Article 14 of the Federal Constitution stipulates that any rule regarding elections is only valid if approved one year before the election. "The law that alters the electoral process will come into effect on the date of its publication, not applying to elections that occur within one year of its effective date," the article states.
The approved text prohibits, in public spaces, electoral propaganda on easels and the affixing of posters, but allows the use of flags and tables for distributing material, provided they do not hinder the passage of people and vehicles. It also prohibits the substitution of candidates less than 20 days before the elections and requires the publication of minutes of party conventions on the internet within 24 hours. The new law also limits – to 1% of the electorate in municipalities with up to 30 voters – the hiring of campaign workers. Above that, it will be possible to employ one person for every additional thousand voters.
The validity of the mini-electoral reform was decided in a consultation formulated by former senator Sérgio de Souza (PMDB-PR). According to the Electoral Code, it is the court's responsibility to answer consultations on electoral matters, made by authorities or political parties.
In December, the president vetoed five provisions. One of the vetoed sections prohibited the display of electoral propaganda on private property, including banners, signs, posters, flags, paintings, or inscriptions. In her justification for rejecting the rule sent to Congress, the president emphasized that the measure "excessively limits the rights of citizens to express their political and partisan convictions." Another point removed by Dilma is the one that allowed campaign donations from public service concessionaires, provided the companies were not "directly responsible for the donation."
Arguing that preventing sanctions against parties that commit irregularities in their accounting reduces the effectiveness of electoral oversight and undermines transparency in the use of the fund's money, the provision that prevented the Electoral Court from ordering the suspension of the transfer of quotas from the Party Fund in the second half of election years was also vetoed.
The President of the Republic also vetoed the provision that would have allowed proof of expenses for air travel, incurred by election campaigns, to be provided only by presenting an invoice or duplicate issued by a travel agency. The vetoed text prohibited the requirement of presenting any other document for this purpose.