The Senate approved a bill vacating the candidacy of politicians whose bills were rejected by the state administration and who were only punished with a fine. If the change is authorized by President Jair Bolsonaro, the ban will only apply in more serious cases, such as when public resources are misappropriated.
“Ultimately, the project separates the wheat from the chaff,” said Proposed Rapporteur Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI). According to him, those managers, like mayors, whose accounts were rejected only by formal acts, for example, due to the lack of a document relating to expenses, without prejudice to the state wallet, will be deprived of the right to participate for eight years.
The proposal was previously approved by the Chamber, meaning it is now subject to Bolsonaro’s approval. When the rejection of bills is related to theft, illegal enrichment or damage to the state treasury, a politician will still not be able to run for office. “We cannot sentence him to political death, because there is eight years of disqualification, we all know how hard life is for politicians simply because a formal mistake was made,” said Marcelo Castro.
Currently, the Clean Records Act establishes the disqualification of politicians for those whose accounts have been rejected for irreparable irregularities that constitute a deliberate act of administrative wrongfulness and a non-appealable decision. The bill, approved by the congressmen, clarifies that this penalty does not apply to those whose “accounts were found to be incorrect, without imputation of debt, and to whom the sanctions were applied solely with the payment of a fine.”
While this change only protected politicians, who were subject to more lenient sanctions from audit courts and legislatures, the bill was criticized for changing the Clean Records Law, which was approved by the public.
One of the conditions criticized was the possibility of amendments to the law that would release the candidatures of those who are not responsible. Senators rejected an amendment that sought to clarify this. “We need to find a way out that can protect good-hearted politicians, but that leaves no support for unscrupulous people to take advantage of these loopholes,” said Senator Soraya Tronica (PSL-MS).
