Lower house speaker race: Ten candidates slated so far
Ten members of the Chamber of Deputies have already officially registered to run for Speaker of the house, for a term that runs until February 2017. More than twelve candidates are expected in the race. Candidates have until noon on Wednesday (Jun. 13), the voting day, to register their names on the slate. The voting starts at 4 pm.
Deputy Luiza Erundina is the only opposition candidate so far, while the others are all allies of President Michel Temer. His party, the PMDB, has two candidates—Marcelo Castro and Fábio Ramalho. The other contenders are Rogério Rosso, Fernando Giacobo, Cristiane Brazil, Fausto Pinato, Carlos Gaguim, Carlos Manato, and Heráclito Fortes.
The new speaker will be chosen by secret ballot as per the internal house rules, on the electronic voting system. A draw will set the sequence in which candidates are listed on the slate, and this order will also be followed for candidates' speeches on the floor. Each candidate will have 10 minutes to ask their fellow deputies for votes.
An absolute majority (257 votes) is required to win. In case none of the candidates gets enough votes, a second round will be held. In case of a tie either in the first or second round, the winner will be decided based on the following conditions: number of terms served in office and candidate age.
The Executive Branch has taken a cautious stance to the speaker election. But while government officials maintain they do not intend to support any particular candidate, Temer's allies in the Chamber of Deputies have tried to reduce the slate, especially the number of fellow party candidates, including from the president's PMDB.
The government's position is that, despite the possibility of a second round, a “regular race” would be ideal to avoid a “division” in the governing coalition. “The government cannot interfere to have only one candidate from the governing coalition stand. It would be ideal if they decided so themselves, but that's not possible,” said André Moura, the government's leader at the Chamber of Deputies.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Lower house speaker race: Ten candidates slated so far
