Brasilia, September 1 (RHC)—Brazil´s top Electoral Court ruled Friday that former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is ineligible to run in the October presidential elections due to his corruption conviction.
Six judges out of a seven-member panel denied Lula the right to stand for the election following a seven-hour debate.
The ruling comes after the UN Human Rights Committee appealed to the Brazilian government, asking it to allow the former president to exercise his political rights. Lula earlier said he would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Vice-presidential running mate Fernando Haddad, a former mayor of Sao Paulo, is expected to head the ticket hoping to inherit the bulk of Lula’s votes.
The party has until September 17th to swap their names on the ballot, although the court gave it 10 days to make the change.