THE PRACTICAL IMPACTS OF OPEN VOTING IN PARLIAMENTARY MANDATE LOSS PROCESSES: A CASE STUDY OF CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT NO. 76 OF 2013

Resumo

This article aimed to conduct a case study on Constitutional Amendment No. 76 of 2013, which amended Article 55, § 2 of the 1988 Brazilian Federal Constitution to abolish secret voting in the judgment of representations for breach of parliamentary decorum aimed at the loss of a parliamentary mandate. The justifications presented in the legislative proposals advocating for the end of secret voting argued that transitioning to open voting would ensure transparency and enable constituents to monitor parliamentary actions. History shows that the modality of parliamentary voting operates as a two-way street. Secret voting, as opposed to open voting, has been used both to oppress parliament members within legislative houses and to evade accountability to the electorate. During the legislative process, despite proposals and speeches emphasizing transparency and accountability, and even with significant parliamentary support, various maneuvers delayed the proposal's progression. Following the adoption of open voting, contrary to the arguments made in parliamentary discourse, the analysis revealed a decrease in transparency and greater challenges in ensuring accountability by representatives.