Brazil's Congress passes bill banning candidates with criminal records from running in elections

The Brazilian Senate Wednesday passed a bill that prevents candidates with criminal records from running in elections.

The bill is expected to enter into force before the next general elections in October, and now awaits the approval of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The bill has received unanimous support of government supporters and opponents. They said it is an important step to build morally clean and decent politics in the country. However, they acknowledged that it is not "perfect."

The so-called "rap sheet" project is the result of a popular initiative with 1.6 million signatures collected by the Movement for Combating Corruption in Elections.

Source:Xinhua