Brazilian Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said on Wednesday that he would review a procedural challenge concerning Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who registered his attendance and voted in a Senate session on Tuesday while in the United States. Alcolumbre said he had received the request but could not yet give a definitive answer.
The challenge was submitted by Randolfe Rodrigues, the government’s leader in Congress. He asked whether Bolsonaro had officially notified the Senate of his trip abroad, as required by the chamber’s rules. Rodrigues also called for Bolsonaro’s vote on the Public Security constitutional amendment to be annulled. The measure was approved by the Senate on Tuesday.
Alcolumbre said he would consult advisers on the rules of the Senate and Congress before deciding how to handle the matter.
Bolsonaro traveled to the United States last week after losing the presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The original report says he had not handed his passports to Brazil’s Federal Police, as ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Bolsonaro is under investigation in two cases before the Supreme Court.
During Wednesday’s session, Alcolumbre also criticized claims disputing the election result and the reliability of electronic voting machines. He noted that the machines had been accepted after the first round, when Bolsonaro finished ahead of Lula, but were later questioned following Lula’s victory in the runoff.
Alcolumbre also said that the Liberal Party won the largest blocs in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in the first round. He criticized candidates who, he said, had campaigned on attacks against the judiciary, the executive branch or the Senate president. Bolsonaro-aligned politicians have criticized Alcolumbre for not scheduling impeachment requests against Supreme Court justices. On Wednesday, the Liberal Party nominated Senator Rogério Marinho to run for Senate president.
Sources: Folha Poder.