Backed by a political group led by Renan Calleiros (MDB), Dantas was elected with an absolute majority in the first round, with more than half of the votes of the members of the State Legislature (27 MPs). The elections took place pending courtas the lawsuit filed by the PP, the party of House President Arthur Lear, is still pending in the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which calls into question the rules of the election.
The buffer term is so named because it only lasts until the end of the terms of the predecessors, Renan Filho (MDB) and Luciano Barbosa (MDB), who stepped down as governor and vice president, respectively. until those directly elected in October begin a new term on January 1, 2023.
Dantas’ political life began in 2005 when he became the Prefecture of Batalha, to which he was re-elected in 2008.
As parliamentarian, Paulo Dantas spoke out and voted in favor of duplicating public highways, building new hospitals, and implementing Cartão Cria, a government income transfer program for families registered with Cadastro Único.
In his profile on the website of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Alagoas, Dantas states that his priority as a parliamentarian for Alagoas was “the protection of health, education, safety, social assistance and infrastructure, in addition to additional work for the full use of the Canal do Sertão”.
Heir to a political family, Paulo Dantas is the son of former Legislative Assembly President Luis Dantas, who also served as Secretary of State and held a seat in Congress as a federal deputy for Alagoas.
In 2019, Alagoas civilian police uncovered a plot to kill Paulo Dantas and his wife, Batalha Mayor Marina Dantas. The suspect was even called the author of the plan, but in his testimony he denied the accusation.
The new governor and deputy governor of Alagoas were chosen by the state’s deputies in an indirect election held this Sunday afternoon (15) in an open ballot in the Legislative Assembly (ALE).
The buffer government elections were necessary due to a double vacancy in the state’s executive branch, which found itself without a governor and without a vice president following the resignations of Renan Filho (MDB) and Luciano Barbosa (MDB) in 2022 and 2019, respectively. . Prior to the indirect elections, the state was under the command of the President of the Court (TJ), Judge Clover Loureiro.
But the case went to court and so it happened. pending court, as the case challenging the election rules has not yet been heard in the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The virtual meeting, which began on Friday (13), was suspended at the request of Minister Nunez Marquez, who wanted more time to analyze the case. Despite this, the elections were held because there was an injunction authorizing them.
The minister’s office clarified that the request was aimed at a deeper understanding of the issue of the voting model, since the FSS has precedents for holding closed rather than open elections. But according to the Cabinet, the viewing request is aimed at appeasing understanding of future cases, not this particular case in Alagoas.
The rapporteur for the process is Minister Gilmar Mendez, who voted to retain the decision to accept only part of the claim filed by the PP. “The rules relating exclusively to the model and procedure for electing a governor in the event of a double vacancy are reserved for the free formation of a federal entity,” he said in an extract from his vote.
The speaker was accompanied by Ministers Edson Fachin, Diaz Toffoli, Alexandre de Moraes and Ricardo Lewandowski. The trial is due to resume when Nunez casts his vote, but no date has been set for that.
If, at the end of the trial, a majority of the STF members vote against the speaker, the result of the indirect election may be annulled. However, according to Professor and Doctor of Law Gustavo Ferreira, the hypothesis that ministers have different understanding of this action is unlikely.
“It may happen that you make changes and annul the choices you have made, but it is very difficult. If this happens while working in the field of hypotheses, the result is annulled and the state is returned to the disposal of the interim governor,” the electoral lawyer explained.
