The Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice annulled the election of deputy Douglas Ruas (PL) as president of the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly (Alerj) on Thursday (26). Acting president desembargadora Suely Lopes Magalhães's preliminary decision cites abuse of purpose and failure to follow the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) order. Guilherme Delaroli (PL) remains as interim president.
On the night of March 26, 2026, desembargadora Suely Lopes Magalhães, acting president of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJ-RJ), suspended the Alerj election held earlier that day, in which Douglas Ruas (PL) received 45 votes from attending deputies. Of 69 eligible deputies, 24 did not participate, and the session saw opposition protests with shouts of 'golpista' in the chamber. Folha reporters could not reach Ruas by publication. The preliminary ruling responds to a writ of mandamus filed by opposition parties including PDT, PT, PSOL, PSD, and MDB. The judge ordered immediate suspension of the session and subsequent acts, rendering the vote ineffective if already completed. Ruas ran unopposed after interim president Guilherme Delaroli (PL) called the session with less than two hours' notice, breaching the 48-hour minimum interval in Alerj's internal rules. The vote proceeded without retallying 2022 election votes, as ordered by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) after cassating ex-president Rodrigo Bacellar's (União Brasil) mandate. The Regional Electoral Court (TRE-RJ) will retally on March 31. 'The logical chronology to be observed (…) is unequivocal: first retally the votes (…) and only then trigger the electoral process,' the desembargadora wrote. She cited abuse of purpose, as Alerj advanced the vote without fully complying with the judicial order and its rules. The decision reopens the contest for Alerj leadership and impacts the state succession line, with desembargador Ricardo Couto governing interim since March 23 after Cláudio Castro's (PL) resignation. A new election requires retallying, plenary recomposition, and rule compliance first.
