Judges recalculated the results to exclude votes for former Governor Anthony Garotinho. That followed a 5-2 ruling Thursday from the Superior Electoral Court annulling Garotinho's 274,411 votes. An administrative misconduct conviction had suspended his political rights, but he appealed and stayed on the ballot.
Eduardo Paes, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's candidate, finished second with 44.16%. He conceded Thursday night after Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin rejected his coalition's request to keep the Oct. 25 runoff alive. Zanin found that appeals within the electoral court had not run their course. "Unfortunately, the courts decided there will be no runoff, contrary to the voters' sovereign will," Paes said. "We respect judicial decisions. That is how democracy works."
The court will formally declare the winner Oct. 15, after its vote-counting commission reviews the report.
Ruas, 37, leads the state legislature and will become Rio's youngest governor since the state merged with Guanabara in 1975. He says he will "govern for all Rio residents." A sealed investigation into suspected embezzlement, money laundering, involvement in a criminal organization and procurement offenses also hangs over him. He is expected to take office in January. Appellate Judge Ricardo Couto has run the state since March amid a separate fight over who should finish former Governor Cláudio Castro's term, which ends Jan. 6.