Point of order, MR. president: secrecy and publicity in the elections for the Brazilian Federal Senate s director board

• Grant number: 19/16316-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2019
• End date: October 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Public Law
• Principal Investigator: Luís Virgílio Afonso da Silva
• Grantee: Bruno da Cunha de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Direito (FD). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

During the Brazilian 2019 Federal Senate's Director Board Election, there was a big controversy over whether the election should adopt, as usual, a secret ballot or it should change to an open ballot, so the representatives could be held accountable for their votes. Even though 50 senators opted for an open election, against only 2 senators who opposed it, the election was held through a secret ballot after Chief Justice Dias Toffoli granted a preliminary injunction on the matter. In face of that, this undergraduate research aims to understand what would be the impacts of the adoption of an open ballot in the Federal Senate's Director Board Election. I will, first of all, analyze other institutions that adopted an open ballot, in order to compare them with the Brazilian Federal Senate and to better comprehend what were the consequences of this change. Then, I will study the negative impacts of transparency, so that it is better understood whether these will manifest themselves in Brazil's Federal Senate and if they can be prevented. In doing so, I intend to contribute with the further development of this discussion, in order to shove away manicheistic views that have become the norm due to the growing political polarization of our country. (AU)