The same-sex partner of the outgoing mayor of Viseu, Pará, Brazil, cannot succeed her because the constitution prohibits executive posts in local government from passing between family members, the nation’s top electoral court ruled unanimously Oct. 1.
Eulina Rabelo had to drop out of the race when the court ruled that she and Mayor Astrid Maria Cunha e Silva are a family, Reuters reported.
It’s unclear what else might follow from the decision to treat the couple as married. Only one Brazilian state, Rio Grande do Sul, offers same-sex civil unions, but those unions have been recognized by the federal social-security system.
Viseu, population 52,139, is located some 2,000 miles (3,200 km)north of Rio de Janeiro.