Following his election last month, Minister Kassio Nunes Marques took office as president of the Superior Electoral Court on Tuesday, May 12, in a ceremony held in Brasília. André Mendonça assumed the vice presidency of the court. The new leadership will oversee the 2026 general elections.
Kassio Nunes Marques, appointed to the Federal Supreme Court by former president Jair Bolsonaro, succeeded Cármen Lúcia as president of the TSE. In his inauguration speech, he expressed concern over the use of artificial intelligence in electoral disputes and defended freedom of expression.
“After actively listening to political parties, civil society and technology companies themselves, we built mechanisms that give the Brazilian Electoral Court all the tools to safeguard the free exercise of citizenship,” Marques said. He added that “the future of our democracy will not be delineated by machines, but by the millions of Brazilians who cast their message of hope in the ballot boxes”.
The ceremony was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and other authorities, including Federal District Governor Celina Leão and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro. The event took place in the TSE plenary in Brasília and gathered about 1,500 guests.
