Brazilian electoral authorities reverse electoral ruling
Brazil's electoral authorities said on Friday they had reversed a decision to force national alliances to be repeated at local level, a structure which had caused what they called "a political earthquake."

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) voted 7-0 to annul the ruling, which had also required that parties which did not have a presidential candidate could only form alliances with parties that were in the same position.

The new ruling allows parties to form different coalitions locally and nationally, but parties that are opponents at the national level cannot legally be partners at the state level.

The original decision had disrupted the coalition arrangements of the Brazil Social Democrat Party and the conservative Liberal Front (PFL), which are both supporting former Sao Paulo state governor Geraldo Alckmin for presidency, but disagree in several states on who to support for state governor.

TSE chief judge Marco Aurelio Mello denied that the decision was reversed due to political pressure, even though opposition supporters had demonstrated on the streets for several days following the original decision.

PFL president, Senator Jorge Bornhausen, welcomed the decision, saying: "The tribunal has recognized an important factor in the rule of law but decided to change the rules of the electoral game."