After deadlock on voting, Assembly considers Engler’s vote

Following a 30-minute suspension of the meeting that voted on the Referendum PEC on Thursday (11/5), the Board of Directors of the Minas Gerais State Legislative Assembly (ALMG) decided to validate the vote of State Deputy Bruno Engler (PL). The lawmaker ended up becoming the ‘swing vote’, as his declaration ensured the 48 votes necessary to approve PEC 24/2025, which removes the obligation to hold a popular referendum for the privatization of Copasa.

Initially, the vote had ended with 47 in favor – an insufficient number for the proposal’s approval. The meeting was interrupted for a kind of ‘VAR’, while the Board analyzed the security camera footage to confirm if Engler was in the chamber at the time of the vote’s closure, as per the House rules.

After checking, it was confirmed that the deputy was present, and the vote was counted. Another legislator, Deputy Dr. Maurício (Novo), also recorded a vote later on, but according to the parliamentary rules, his statement was not considered.