Brazils electoral court guns down Lulas candidacy
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he said either party would also be able to lodge an appeal with the supreme court over the constitutional nature of the electoral courts ruling1 a majority of brazils top electoral court shot down late friday the candidacy of popular leftist luiz inacio lula da silva in the countrys upcoming presidential vote telling the jailed former leader he cannot participate in octobers critical election1 in an extraordinary session the superior electoral court dashed lulas hopes after hours of debate with the judges voting an overwhelming 6-1 against him1 shortly thereafter the former presidents workers party pt vowed to fight with all means to secure candidacy for the leftist icon1 we will present all appeals before the courts for the recognition of the rights of lula provided by law and international treaties ratified by brazil said the party in a statement1 we will defend lula in the streets with the people because he is a candidate of hope1 lulas case was a last-minute addition to the court session. the result was expected but the vote of judge edson fachin the second to speak had momentarily rekindled suspense1 he relied on lulas recent backing from the un human rights committee which ruled that the former leader cannot be disqualified from the elections as his legal appeals are ongoing1 but the votes that followed torpedoed the former presidents bid for a third term1 lula was sentenced to 12 years in prison for accepting a luxury seaside apartment as a bribe from a construction firm1 he vehemently denied the accusations and has dismissed the charges as a political plot aimed at preventing him from standing in the elections1 the pt has stubbornly kept up its attempts to force lulas name onto the ballot box registering him as a candidate two weeks ago1 the courts decision would be open to appeal magistrate henrique neves a former electoral court member told afp1 the vote punctuated a gripping case that has roiled the country for months with lula 72 remaining the top contender among brazilians to lead latin americas largest economy despite sitting behind bars since april for accepting a bribe1 the court decision dropped late in the night but before the spots of presidential hopefuls were set to broadcast1 lula was found guilty in july 2017 and then lost a first appeal in january1 nonetheless un committee member olivier de frouville told afp that lula should be allowed to organize and campaign even from jail1 brazil is technically obliged to abide by those findings but the government in brasilia described the committees conclusions as a recommendation that is not legally binding1 former trade union leader lula is also involved in another five ongoing court cases1 but he is adored by millions of brazilians due to the prosperity brazil enjoyed under his leadership from 2003 to 20101 he left office with a popularity rating of over 80 percent1 despite the uncertainty over his ability to stand lula currently leads polls with more than double the share of his nearest challenger the right-winger jair bolsonaro1 but the pts second choice looks hopeless1 former sao paulo governor fernando haddad who will stand if lula is barred commands little popular support1 however the political chaos has had wider repercussions in the country with the currency losing 20 percent of its value against the dollar since january1 lulas social media followers remain upbeat though. the pt launched an appeal for support on twitter after which a hashtag translating as lula on the ballot box quickly began trending1