The former governor withdrew his challenge to the rejection of his candidacy, a move that could affect the valid-vote count and the outcome of the race.
Former Rio de Janeiro state governor Anthony Garotinho called the election result a “celebration of the corrupt” after abandoning his appeal to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court against the rejection of his gubernatorial candidacy.
Garotinho said he would no longer challenge the electoral courts, while again claiming he had been politically persecuted. He also criticized the results of legislative elections in the state and for the federal congress. He cited abstentions and blank or invalid ballots as evidence that voters did not identify with the leading candidates. That was his political interpretation, not an established finding about voters’ motives.
Garotinho finished third with 3.17 per cent of valid votes, or 274,411 ballots. Douglas Ruas received 49.27 per cent and Eduardo Paes 42.76 per cent. About 3 million of the 12.8 million eligible voters did not cast ballots, while 675,292 votes were annulled, according to the reported tally.
Withdrawing the appeal could lead to Garotinho’s votes being definitively removed from the valid-vote calculation. If that happens, Ruas’s share could exceed the 50 per cent threshold needed for a first-round win. The outcome depends on the electoral authorities’ decision.
Garotinho’s candidacy was rejected because of a conviction for administrative misconduct connected to alleged fraud and diversion of funds at Rio’s health department in 2005 and 2006. His defense said the period during which his political rights were suspended had ended in August. CNN Brasil reported that electoral prosecutors took a different view.