A BRAZILIAN POLITICIAN has been sentenced to 103 years in prison for killing his running mate so that he could take her place in Congress.

A jury in the federal court in Alagoas found Talvane de Albuquerque guilty of ordering four aides to kill congresswoman Ceci Cunha, so that he could replace her in the lower house Chamber of Deputies.

Albuquerque was Cunha’s alternative and would have assumed her seat if she had resigned, died or become incapacitated in some other way.

Albuquerque was also found guilty of ordering the murder of Cunha’s husband, sister-in-law and her sister’s mother-in-law.

His aides were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 75 to 105 years. Under Brazilian law, no one can actually serve more than 30 years in prison.

Defence attorney Welton Roberto said Albuquerque would appeal.

Cunha, a congresswoman with the Brazilian Social Democratic Party, was killed in late 1998 with a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun, police said at the time.

The shooting occurred outside Cunha’s sister’s house in the state capital of Maceio.