NextFin news, On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, the Brazilian Senate in Brasília approved a legislative project that unifies the period of ineligibility for politicians to eight years. This decision was made to standardize the rules governing the disqualification of candidates from running for public office.
The project was passed during a Senate session and aims to consolidate various existing rules into a single, clear timeframe of eight years for political ineligibility. This measure affects the application of the Ficha Limpa (Clean Record) law, which restricts candidacies of politicians convicted of certain crimes or administrative irregularities.
The new legislation was approved to eliminate discrepancies and unify the duration of ineligibility periods, which previously varied depending on the nature of the offense or administrative sanction. The Senate's approval reflects an effort to bring clarity and uniformity to electoral law enforcement.
However, the project notably excludes a specific legal loophole that could have impacted former President Jair Bolsonaro's eligibility, as reported by Folha de S.Paulo. This exclusion means that the new eight-year rule does not apply retroactively to certain cases involving Bolsonaro.
The Senate's decision was reported by the official Senate news portal and major Brazilian media outlets, including Folha de S.Paulo and Reuters, confirming the legislative change took place on Tuesday in Brasília.
The unified eight-year ineligibility period will now proceed to the next stages of the legislative process for further approval before becoming law.
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