Brazil's top electoral court bars candidate over domestic violence conviction

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) unanimously upheld the rejection of João Neto's candidacy for federal deputy in Alagoas. The court ruled that convictions for bodily injury against a woman can make candidates ineligible under the Clean Slate law's category of crimes against life. The decision was announced on Thursday, October 29, 2026.

João Neto, a lawyer from the Solidarity party, was convicted by Alagoas courts in 2025 to four years and two months in prison. He pushed his wife inside their home while she was barefoot on a slippery floor. The fall caused an open wound on her chin that required surgical intervention.

The regional electoral court of Alagoas denied his candidacy registration in September after a complaint filed by Senator Renan Calheiro. The TSE maintained that regional decision during its plenary session on Thursday.

Justice Dias Toffoli, the rapporteur, said the court did not create a new rule but defined the scope of an existing legal category. He cited Law 14,994/2024, which reformed the legal treatment of violence against women in the Penal Code and brought femicide and bodily injury against women closer together.

Toffoli argued the crime has a plurioffensive character, protecting not only the victim's physical integrity but also women against gender-based violence. The TSE also sent a formal communication to the National Congress urging lawmakers to explicitly include violence against women among the causes of electoral ineligibility.

Electoral Justice Corregedor Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva proposed the appeal to Congress, citing controversy over the list of crimes that trigger ineligibility under Complementary Law 64/1990. He asked the presidents of the Senate and Chamber to examine the improvement of that law with urgency.