Brazil's Top Election Court Upholds Ouster for Using Campaign Funds on Facial Procedure

Overview

• Sílvia Waiãpi (PL-AP) lost her final appeal as the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral unanimously upheld the Amapá electoral court’s decision to revoke her mandate, nullify her votes, and recalculate seat totals.
• Relator André Mendonça said using public electoral money for a facial harmonization procedure violated the moral integrity of the vote and undermined the legitimacy of the mandate.
• The court rejected a bid to recuse TRE-AP judge Paola Santos after finding she joined the case only after evidence had been gathered, which the relator said did not taint the process.
• Prosecutors documented about R$ 9,000 from the public campaign fund routed from the campaign account to the coordinator’s account and then to the clinic, supported by the coordinator’s complaint and receipts, and the vice electoral prosecutor alleged a falsified invoice.
• Ministers said the case could guide future disputes over aesthetic or preparation costs, with Nunes Marques calling the conduct bad faith and TSE president Cármen Lúcia stressing equal rules for men and women in campaign spending.