Douglas Ruas is elected governor of Rio de Janeiro in the first round after a decision by the TSE

The TSE’s decision changed the election’s official calculation. Douglas Ruas had initially received 49.27% of the votes, just below the majority needed to win in the first round. After Anthony Garotinho’s candidacy was annulled, Garotinho’s votes were excluded from the valid-vote total.

This did not give Garotinho’s votes directly to Ruas. Instead, the denominator became smaller. Ruas’s existing votes therefore represented a larger percentage of the remaining valid votes. That adjustment took him beyond the required 50% threshold, according to the article.

The article presents Ruas as elected governor in the first round, although it also repeatedly mentions an approaching second round on October 25. It does not provide the final adjusted percentage, leaving a placeholder where that number should appear. The case shows how later court decisions can alter an election result after voting ends.

The TSE is Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court. It is the country’s highest court dedicated to electoral matters. Its responsibilities include resolving disputes about candidates, elections, voting results, and electoral eligibility. Its decisions can change how votes are counted and whether a candidate remains legally qualified to compete.

The article gives a direct example of that authority. The TSE reviewed Anthony Garotinho’s candidacy and formed a 4–0 majority to annul the votes he received in the Rio de Janeiro governor’s race. The court’s decision followed a finding that his candidacy was not regular under the eligibility rules.

That power matters because election results can depend on legal decisions made after voting day. Here, the ruling did not transfer Garotinho’s votes to another candidate. It removed them from the calculation, requiring the announced percentages and possible outcome to be adjusted. The article identifies Floriano Azevedo as the case’s rapporteur.

The key idea is that percentages depend on both the candidate’s votes and the total used for comparison. A candidate can cross 50% without gaining additional votes if votes cast for another candidate are later excluded from the valid-vote total.

Ruas had 49.27% when the initial results included Garotinho’s votes. Garotinho received more than 3%, but the TSE later annulled his candidacy and removed those votes from the calculation. Ruas kept the votes he had already received. His share rose because the pool of counted valid votes became smaller.

This distinction is important. The annulled votes did not become Ruas votes, and the article explicitly says they do not go to him. Instead, the revised calculation placed Ruas above the rule requiring “50% of the votes plus one” for a first-round victory. The article does not provide the resulting percentage, using “(número)” instead.

Garotinho received more than 3% of the votes for governor, according to the article. That share was enough to matter because Ruas began at 49.27%, only slightly below the first-round majority requirement. The race was therefore sensitive to any change in which votes counted.

The mechanism is mathematical. Percentages are calculated by dividing a candidate’s votes by the total valid votes. When Garotinho’s votes were annulled, Ruas’s numerator stayed the same, but the denominator fell. Even without receiving a single Garotinho vote, Ruas could then account for more than half of the remaining valid votes.

The exact increase cannot be stated from the article because the revised percentage appears only as “(número).” Still, the reported figures explain why the effect was significant: more than 3% was removed while Ruas stood at 49.27%. In a close election, a few percentage points can determine whether a runoff is needed.

Votes counted sub judice are votes whose legal status remains under judicial review. They may be included in preliminary election totals while a candidate’s eligibility or candidacy is being challenged. Their inclusion does not mean the votes have received permanent legal validation.

The article describes this exact situation through Garotinho’s candidacy. Although he was considered ineligible, he appeared on the ballot and received more than 3% of the vote. The TSE later examined the case and annulled those votes. André Mendonça explained that including votes annulled sub judice preserves the possibility of adjusting the result after the court’s decision.

The practical consequence is that early percentages may change after the election. Once the legal question is resolved, electoral authorities can recalculate the valid-vote total and candidate shares. In this case, the recalculation benefited Ruas’s percentage without transferring Garotinho’s votes to him. The article presents the process as a legal adjustment to the announced result.

The article explains that electoral legislation allows a person to contest an election until the candidate’s last legal appeals have been exhausted. This rule can place a disputed candidate on the ballot even when a court has already found serious eligibility problems. The candidacy remains temporarily usable while the judicial process continues.

Garotinho was described as ineligible, yet he received more than 3% of the votes for governor. His votes were initially reflected in the election percentages because his legal case had not reached its final resolution. The TSE later ruled that his candidacy was not regular, citing a conviction for improbity and suspended political rights.

When the final challenge fails, the electoral result can be adjusted. In this case, the TSE annulled Garotinho’s votes rather than awarding them to Ruas. They were excluded from the valid-vote total, which changed Ruas’s percentage and, according to the article, led to his first-round election.

Brazilian gubernatorial elections require a candidate to receive more than half of the valid votes to win in the first round. The article states this as “50% of the votes plus one.” The rule ensures that a first-round winner has majority support among the votes counted as valid, rather than winning only by finishing first in a divided field.

If no candidate reaches that threshold, the leading candidates normally advance to a second round. The article contrasts that rule with Ruas’s initial position: he had 49.27%, which was below the required majority. After Garotinho’s votes were annulled, however, the valid-vote total changed and Ruas’s percentage rose above the threshold.

That calculation determines whether voters return to the polls. According to the article, Ruas was elected in the first round after the TSE decision. At the same time, the text repeatedly says a second round would occur on October 25, creating an unresolved inconsistency in the article’s account.