BRAZIL: Lower House Rejects 'big District' In Political Reform

(RTTNews) - Disagreements over the so-called "big district" dominated the discussions on the Brazilian House of Representatives floor on Tuesday during the analysis of the political reform in the South American country - but the lawmakers rejected the system in a 238-205 vote with one abstention.

The rejected proposition stated that representatives would be elected respecting the largest number of votes, and not by the current party's ratio coefficient rule. As a result, the proportional system remains in force. In this system, representatives are appointed according to the electoral performance of their parties or coalitions.

Tuesday's vote was the third time that representatives protested against the "big district." Last week, the most of the lawmakers had already declared themselves against the system, but the vote was not completed due to lack of quorum. In another vote on political reform in May 2015, the "big district" also did not pass.

Any change in the Brazilian electoral system must be approved in the House and Senate until October 7 to be valid in the 2018 election.