Former governor Eduardo Leite (PSDB) confirmed, this Monday (13), that he will enter in the dispute for the government of Rio Grande do Sul. After resigning from the command of the state at the end of March, he reappears in the post.
“I communicate today to the gauchos and gaúchas that I am a pre-candidate for the government of Rio Grande do Sul. This is a collective decision by my party together with my governor Ranolfo, as were all the other decisions we made in the four years of government,” he said.
The movement carried out by Eduardo Leite and the PSDB leadership is supported by Brazilian legislation. As the former governor was still serving his first term at the head of the state executive when he left Palácio do Piratini, seat of the Rio Grande do Sul government, he will be able to run again.
Despite the interruption of term, the electoral legislation considers Eduardo Leite a candidate for reelection. That is, if he is elected by the Gauchos in October, he will not be able to apply for the position again in 2026, according to the Federal Constitution.
“The President of the Republic, the governors of the state and the Federal District, the mayors and whoever has succeeded or replaced them during the term of office may be re-elected for a single subsequent term”, says article 14 of the Constitution.
Eduardo Leite’s laps
The toucan made official his departure from the government of Rio Grande do Sul on March 31 this year. The position was transferred to his deputy, Ranolfo Vieira Júnior (PSDB).
Leite’s name was considered as a possible candidate for president or vice president. Months earlier, he had been defeated by the then governor of São Paulo, João Doria, in the PSDB primaries – a dispute that would define the acronym’s pre-candidate in the 2022 presidential election.
Leite had the PSD’s doors open to try to run for the Palácio do Planalto. The president of the acronym, Gilberto Kassab, declared to the CNN also in March, that the legend’s priority was to count on Leite in the presidential race.
Critical of the possibility of reelection, Leite ruled out the possibility of running for another four years at Palácio do Piratini, seat of the government of Rio Grande do Sul. This Monday, however, he stated that the fact that he resigned from the state government in March opened up space for him to enter the dispute.
“The only condition I would accept to present myself again to the population would be if I were not in office, because my criticism of reelection is linked to the use of the office. Renunciation opened up all possibilities for me and took none away from me. If I were governor, I could not run for reelection because it goes against what I believe,” he claimed.
Legislation and precedents
Despite Eduardo Leite’s speech, the electoral legislation considers the former governor as a candidate for reelection.
The Federal Constitution establishes that the head of the Executive Power cannot be occupied by the same person for more than two consecutive terms – which does not prevent the candidacy for the same position on other times, as long as not consecutively.
Eduardo Leite is not the first governor, since redemocratization, to resign and later run for reelection.
In 1998, the then governor of Tocantins Siqueira Campos (PFL) resigned from the Executive so that his sons could run for elective positions. Later, however, he announced his candidacy for reelection and was reappointed.
In 2006 there were two cases. Luiz Henrique da Silveira (PMDB) left the government of Santa Catarina ; and Roberto Requião (PMDB), the one from Paraná . Both stated their intention to dedicate themselves to their campaigns and were re-elected.
Photos – The pre-candidates for the government of Rio Grande do Sul
Source: CNN Brasil
