President of the Senate says he supports an update of the value of the 2020 elections and that he intends to plan for an end to re-election in 2024
The President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), said that the amount of R$4.91 billion allocated to the electoral fund for the 2024 municipal elections is a “error” from the National Congress. The value represents an increase of 150% compared to the R$2 billion (R$2.5 billion, if adjusted for inflation) from the 2020 elections.
The amount is described in the 2024 Budget report, by the federal deputy Luiz Carlos Motta (PL-SP), presented on Wednesday (Dec 20, 2023). Here's the complete of the document (PDF – 23MB).
“I think that [o valor] has no criteria. He [Luiz Carlos Motta] took parameters from a general election in 2022. The electoral fund based on 2022 for municipal elections is a serious error by Congress. People won't understand. Why in 2020, in the same municipal election, was it R$2 billion?“, he said at a breakfast with journalists this Friday (Dec 22).
The government sent a budget piece that provided R$900 million for the 2024 elections. Pacheco said, on the other hand, that this amount made the elections “impractical“. Your suggestion is to update the 2020 value as a way to solve the equation.
The budget must be voted on this Friday (Dec 22, 2023). Pacheco stated that he will defend that congressmen vote in accordance with the original proposal, of R$900 million. And that he would commit to negotiating the updated value with the government at the beginning of the year.
Re-election
Rodrigo Pacheco said that there is a “very strong desire” in the Senate to vote on the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) that ends the institute of re-election. The possibility was approved in 1997, during the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
“The end of re-election is a very strong desire of the senators, we are going to hold public hearings, debate this. There may be some resistance [do governo]but even with resistance, the will of the senators is very strong“, he said.
According to Pacheco, this will be one of the priorities on the Senate's political agenda next year. And it would not be valid for the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), for current governors or for mayors who may be elected in 2024.
The idea is that there will be, as compensation, an expansion of mandates. The idea is to leave it stipulated in 5 years. In addition, concurrent elections would be held for all positions. With this, Pacheco estimated that it would be possible to have savings of up to R$30 billion in the 5-year electoral cycle.
Today, the Electoral Court has a budget of approximately R$11 billion annually to hold elections. This amount includes moving the ballot boxes, mobilizing professionals who monitor the election and other expenses.
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