Brazilian president fined for early campaigning

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was fined 10,000 reais (5,379 U.S. dollars) by the Superior Electoral Court Friday for early campaigning in support of the ruling party candidate in the October presidential election.

The president has been fined four times for early campaigning for his party's candidate, former chief of staff Dilma Rousseff, this year.

In Brazil, campaigning is restricted to three months before the election. Politicians are not allowed to speak as candidates or campaign for others before that date.

Lula was fined because he stressed that Rousseff was his candidate and asked the audience to vote for her in a speech on April 10 at the headquarters of the Metallurgy Workers' Trade Union in Sao Bernardo do Campo in the state of Sao Paulo.

Rousseff was also fined 5,000 reais (2,689 dollars).

The Superior Electoral Court said Lula's intent to campaign was "explicit" and noted he had been punished for early campaigning before.

"The intent to campaign and call the working class to work in the campaign was evident," Electoral Judge Henrique Neves said.

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