Certainly the question does not end here, because now appeals and counter appeals will arrive, but in the meantime the Electoral Tribunal of Brazil has decided, by a large majority: the former green-gold president Lula, favored in the polls to be re-elected on October 7, cannot stand as a candidate for the presidency of Brazil. The TSE therefore upheld the appeals lodged against Lula, due to his 12-year criminal sentence (who is serving time in Curitiba prison, in the south of Brazil) for corruption and money laundering, and he did so with a plebiscitary vote: 6 votes against 1.
During the long session, which lasted over 10 hours, the seven magistrates agreed that there is no doubt that Lula is ineligible on the basis of the so-called "clean ballot law" which prohibits citizens convicted in the second instance by a collegiate court from standing as candidates for election. Edson Fachin, the only magistrate who spoke out in favor of authorizing Lula's candidacy, he did so on the basis of the request presented by the UN Human Rights Committee to the Brazilian authorities, to guarantee the former president the full exercise of his civil rights – including his right to run as a presidential candidate – until all appeals against his conviction are exhausted.
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Fachin argued that the UN body's request was binding on the Brazilian authorities, but his six colleagues countered that the Human Rights Committee's requests could only become mandatory if the Brazilian presidency promulgates the relevant international agreements, which have already been ratified by the Parliament. However, this did not happen and – ironically – it was Dilma Roussef, Lula's party mate who was elected president after him, who was responsible for this oversight. As soon as the rejection of Lula's candidacy was announced, the Workers' Party (PT) issued a statement in which it promised to "continue to fight by all means" for his candidacy, but even if the former president's defenders lodge appeals against the decision, its application remains immediate. The next step is the appeal to the Supreme Court.
