Declared ineligible three weeks ago for "
abuse of power
", the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella, was authorized by a judge of the Higher Electoral Court (TSE) of Brazil to seek re-election in November.
The magistrate's judgment, to which AFP had access on Tuesday, suspended the decision of a regional court which had rendered the councilor ineligible until 2026.
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This sentence was suspended provisionally, while the appeal was analyzed in plenary session, on a date not yet determined.
Former pastor and bishop of the powerful Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (neo-Pentecostal), Marcelo Crivella, 62, is accused of using municipal personnel and equipment to organize a campaign rally for his son, legislative candidate in 2018.
Vehicles from the municipal garbage collection company were reportedly used to bring employees during their working hours to the meeting.
The mayor denies any wrongdoing: “
My son was not elected.
Where is the abuse of power if the candidate has lost?
", He asked Tuesday in a statement.
He has recently faced many other charges, including over his management of municipal hospitals.
Brazilian media reported on an investigation by the prosecution into an alleged network of embezzlement of laundered public funds within the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.
According to the latest polls, Mr. Crivella, who has tried to get closer to far-right president Jair Bolsonaro in recent weeks, is credited with only 14% of the voting intentions, against 30% for his predecessor Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio during the Olympics-2016.
The first round of municipal elections will take place on November 15 and the second on November 29. The vote was scheduled for October, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
