Jailed ex-leader named for office

Da Silva nominated for October polls

SAO PAULO: The Workers’ Party in Brazil named jailed former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as its nominee for the country’s top job in October’s election.

Delegates of the left-leaning party confirmed da Silva, who served two terms as Brazil’s president between 2003 and 2010, with enthusiastic approval at a convention in Sao Paulo.

The former president is likely to be barred by Brazil’s electoral court, though.

Since April, the former president has been jailed on a corruption conviction but he denies any wrongdoing and claims he is being politically persecuted.

Da Silva leads polls for the office by a large margin and surveys show voters would lend their support to another Workers’ Party candidate if he cannot take part.

The party is not expected to name his running mate until today.

In a recorded message to the convention, da Silva said that “it is those that sentenced me that are jailed in a lie”.

“Brazil needs to restore its democracy, find itself and be happy again,” he said. “They might lock me up, shut me up, but I will keep my faith in the Brazilian people.”

Meanwhile, other candidates criticised da Silva and his party.

“It pains my heart, but I don’t expect anything from them now,” said left-leaning presidential hopeful Ciro Gomes, of the Democratic Labor Party.

Conservative Geraldo Alckmin, who was named by the Social Democracy Party as its presidential nominee on Saturday, cast blame for the country’s 13 million unemployed.

“It was the lies and the radicalism that created the chain of events that is the tragic heritage of the Workers’ Party,” he said.

Workers’ Party chairman Gleisi Hoffmann, who is trying to lure other left-leaning parties to the ticket, addressed supporters at the convention after two fringe parties endorsed da Silva’s run.