Elections in Brazil
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Brazil elects on the national level a head of state — the president — and a legislature. The president is elected to a four-year term by absolute majority vote through a two-round system. The National Congress (Congresso Nacional) has two chambers. The Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) has 513 members, elected to a four-year term by proportional representation. The Federal Senate (Senado Federal) has 81 members, elected to an eight-year term, with elections every four years for alternatively one-third and two-thirds of the seats. Brazil has a multi-party system, with such numerous parties that often no one party has a chance of gaining power alone, and so they must work with each other to form coalition governments.
Schedule
Election
| Year | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Presidential year | Off-year | Local year | Off-year | Presidential year |
| President | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| Senate | 27 seats | No | 54 seats | ||
| Chamber | All 513 seats | No | All 513 seats | ||
| Governor | All 27 federative units | No | All 27 federative units | ||
| Legislative Assemblies | All 27 federative units | No | All 27 federative units | ||
| Mayor | No | All 5,568 municipalities | No | ||
| Municipal Chambers | No | All 5,568 municipalities | No | ||
Inauguration
| Position | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Presidential (January) National Congress (February) Gubernatorial (January) States and Federal District Parliaments (January) |
None | Mayors (January) City Councils (January) |
None | Presidential (January) National Congress (February) Gubernatorial (January) States and Federal District Parliaments (January) |
None | Mayors (January) City Councils (January) |
None | Presidential (January) National Congress (February) Gubernatorial (January) States and Federal District Parliaments (January) |
| President and vice president |
1 January | None | 1 January | None | 5 January | ||||
| National Congress | 1 February | None | 1 February | None | 1 February | ||||
| States, cities and municipalities | 1 January | None | 1 January | None | 1 January | None | 1 January | None | 1 January (state parliaments) 6 January (Governors) |
Electoral systems
A presidential candidate in Brazil needs to gain fifty per cent plus one of votes to be named as winner. A second-round runoff is mandated if no candidate receives fifty per cent plus one of votes.[1]
Deputies are elected to the Chamber of Deputies using a form of party-list proportional representation known as the open list. Seats are distributed in 27 multi-member constituencies based on the Federation Units (26 States and the Federal District), ranging from 8 to 70 seats. Seats are allocated through the D'Hondt method.[2]
Senators are elected to the Federal Senate with a plurality of the vote in a first-past-the-post system, which is not proportional.[3] Three senators are elected for each state and for the Federal District.[4]
In lower levels of government, the state legislative assemblies and city councils are elected using an open list proportional representation system. Seats are allocated using a version of the D'Hondt method where only parties who receive at least V/n votes (where V is the total number of votes cast and n is the total number of seats to be filled) may win seats in the legislature.[5][6]
Voting in Brazil is compulsory for all literate citizens over 18 and under 70, and optional for citizens who are aged 16 and 17, older than 70 or illiterate. Brazil introduced compulsory voting into its Electoral Code in 1932 and lowered the voting age from 18 to 16 in the 1988 constitution.[7] The 1988 constitution also granted voluntary suffrage to the illiterate citizens of Brazil.[8]
Brazilian voting machines
Electronic voting was first introduced to Brazil in 1996, with the first tests carried out in the state of Santa Catarina. The primary design goal of the voting machine (Portuguese: urna eletrônica) is extreme simplicity, the model being a public phone booth. The voting machines perform three steps – voter identification, secure voting, and tallying – in a single process, aiming to eliminate fraud based on forged or falsified public documents.[citation needed] Political parties have access to the voting machine's programs before the election for auditing.
As of 2023, Brazil is the only country in the world to conduct its elections entirely through electronic voting.[9]Presidential elections by party
2022 general election
Presidential election
Parliamentary election
Chamber of Deputies
 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |||
| Liberal Party | 18,228,958 | 16.54 | 99 | +66[a] | |||
| Brazil of Hope | Workers' Party | 15,354,125 | 13.93 | 68 | +12 | ||
| Communist Party of Brazil | 6 | -4[b] | |||||
| Green Party | 6 | +2 | |||||
| Brazil Union | 10,262,035 | 9.31 | 59 | -22[c] | |||
| Progressistas | 8,704,341 | 7.90 | 47 | +10 | |||
| Social Democratic Party | 8,322,183 | 7.55 | 42 | +8 | |||
| Brazilian Democratic Movement | 7,992,988 | 7.25 | 42 | +8 | |||
| Republicans | 7,618,108 | 6.91 | 41 | +11[d] | |||
| Always Forward | Brazilian Social Democracy Party | 5,000,910 | 4.54 | 13 | -16 | ||
| Cidadania | 5 | -3[e] | |||||
| PSOL REDE | Socialism and Liberty Party | 4,650,080 | 4.22 | 12 | +2 | ||
| Sustainability Network | 2 | +1 | |||||
| Brazilian Socialist Party | 4,202,376 | 3.81 | 14 | -18 | |||
| Democratic Labour Party | 3,843,174 | 3.49 | 17 | -11 | |||
| Podemos | 3,614,581 | 3.28 | 12 | -5[f] | |||
| Avante | 2,205,176 | 2.00 | 7 | – | |||
| Social Christian Party | 1,951,486 | 1.77 | 6 | -2 | |||
| Solidarity | 1,728,083 | 1.57 | 4 | -9 | |||
| Patriota | 1,548,140 | 1.40 | 4 | -5[g] | |||
| Brazilian Labour Party | 1,433,638 | 1.30 | 1 | -9 | |||
| New Party | 1,360,590 | 1.23 | 3 | -5 | |||
| Republican Party of the Social Order | 1,070,953 | 0.97 | 3 | -5 | |||
| Brazilian Labour Renewal Party | 294,315 | 0.27 | – | – | |||
| Party of National Mobilization | 256,830 | 0.23 | – | -3 | |||
| Act | 159,865 | 0.15 | – | -2[h] | |||
| Christian Democracy | 138,818 | 0.13 | – | -1 | |||
| Brazilian Woman's Party | 85,722 | 0.08 | – | – | |||
| Brazilian Communist Party | 85,642 | 0.08 | – | – | |||
| Popular Unity | 55,780 | 0.05 | – | New | |||
| United Socialist Workers' Party | 27,995 | 0.03 | – | – | |||
| Workers' Cause Party | 8,660 | 0.01 | – | – | |||
| Undetermined | 5,632 | 0.01 | – | – | |||
| Total | 110,211,184 | 100.00 | 513 | – | |||
| Valid votes | 110,211,184 | 89.46 | |||||
| Invalid votes | 5,483,262 | 4.45 | |||||
| Blank votes | 7,501,125 | 6.09 | |||||
| Total votes | 123,195,571 | 100.00 | |||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 155,557,422 | 79.20 | |||||
| Source: Superior Electoral Court | |||||||
Federal Senate
 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | |||||||
| Elected | Total | +/– | ||||||||
| Liberal Party | 25,278,764 | 24.86 | 8 | 13 | +7[i] | |||||
| Brazilian Socialist Party | 13,615,846 | 13.39 | 1 | 1 | -2 | |||||
| Brazil of Hope | Workers' Party | 12,456,553 | 12.25 | 4 | 9 | +2 | ||||
| Green Party | 475,597 | 0.47 | – | – | – | |||||
| Communist Party of Brazil | 299,013 | 0.29 | – | – | –[j] | |||||
| Social Democratic Party | 11,312,512 | 11.12 | 2 | 10 | – | |||||
| Progressistas | 7,592,391 | 7.47 | 3 | 7 | +2[k] | |||||
| Brazil Union | 5,465,486 | 5.37 | 5 | 12 | +2[l] | |||||
| Social Christian Party | 4,285,485 | 4.21 | 1 | 1 | +1 | |||||
| Republicans | 4,259,279 | 4.19 | 2 | 3 | +2[m] | |||||
| Brazilian Democratic Movement | 3,882,458 | 3.82 | 1 | 10 | -4 | |||||
| Brazilian Labour Party | 3,621,532 | 3.56 | – | – | -2 | |||||
| Podemos | 1,776,283 | 1.75 | – | 6 | –[n] | |||||
| Democratic Labour Party | 1,650,222 | 1.62 | – | 2 | -4 | |||||
| Always Forward | Brazilian Social Democracy Party | 1,394,547 | 1.37 | – | 4 | -4 | ||||
| Cidadania | 0 | 0.00 | – | 1 | –[o] | |||||
| Avante | 1,369,655 | 1.35 | – | – | –[p] | |||||
| Brazilian Labour Renewal Party | 758,938 | 0.75 | – | – | – | |||||
| PSOL REDE | Socialism and Liberty Party | 677,345 | 0.67 | – | – | – | ||||
| Sustainability Network | 8,133 | 0.01 | – | 1 | – | |||||
| New Party | 479,593 | 0.47 | – | – | – | |||||
| Popular Unity | 291,294 | 0.29 | – | – | New | |||||
| Republican Party of the Social Order | 214,525 | 0.21 | – | 1 | – | |||||
| United Socialist Workers' Party | 135,599 | 0.13 | – | – | – | |||||
| Christian Democracy | 101,722 | 0.10 | – | – | –[q] | |||||
| Patriota | 76,729 | 0.08 | – | – | –[r] | |||||
| Brazilian Communist Party | 64,569 | 0.06 | – | – | – | |||||
| Brazilian Woman's Party | 61,350 | 0.06 | – | – | New | |||||
| Party of National Mobilization | 27,812 | 0.03 | – | – | – | |||||
| Workers' Cause Party | 26,614 | 0.03 | – | – | – | |||||
| Act | 24,076 | 0.02 | – | – | –[s] | |||||
| Solidarity | 19,408 | 0.02 | – | – | – | |||||
| Total | 101,703,330 | 100.00 | 27 | 81 | – | |||||
| Valid votes | 101,703,330 | 82.55 | ||||||||
| Invalid votes | 12,151,932 | 9.86 | ||||||||
| Blank votes | 9,340,309 | 7.58 | ||||||||
| Total votes | 123,195,571 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 155,557,422 | 79.20 | ||||||||
| Source: Superior Electoral Court | ||||||||||
Election results 1982–2018
Brazilian legislative elections (Chamber of Deputies), 1982–2018
| Parties | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workers' Party | 3.5 | 6.9 | 10.2 | 12.8 | 13.2 | 18.4 | 15.0 | 16.9 | 14.0 | 10.3 |
| Brazilian Democratic Movement | 43.0 | 48,1 | 19.3 | 20.3 | 15.2 | 13.4 | 14.6 | 13.0 | 11.1 | 5.5 |
| Brazilian Social Democracy Party | - | - | 8.7 | 13.9 | 17.5 | 14.3 | 13.6 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 6.0 |
| Liberal Front Party/Democrats | - | 17.7 | 12.4 | 12.9 | 17.3 | 13.4 | 10.9 | 7.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
| Liberal Party / Party of the Republic | - | 2.8 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 7.6 | 5.8 | 5.3 |
| Brazilian Socialist Party | - | 0.9 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 6.5 | 5.5 |
| Progressistas | - | - | - | 6.9 | 11.3 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 5.6 |
| Democratic Labour Party | 5.8 | 6.5 | 10.0 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 4.6 |
| Brazilian Labour Party | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 2.1 |
| Green Party | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Social Christian Party | - | - | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| Communist Party of Brazil | - | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| Popular Socialist Party | - | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
| Brazilian Republican Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.3 | 1.7 | 4.5 | 5.1 |
| Socialism and Liberty Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| Party of National Mobilization | - | - | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Democratic Social / Reform Progressive Party | 43.2 | 7.8 | 8.9 | 9.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| National Reconstruction Party / Christian Labour Party | - | - | 8.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Christian Democratic Party / Christian Social Democratic Party / Christian Democracy | - | 1.2 | 3.0 | - | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order | - | - | - | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 1.0 | - | - | - |
| Social Democratic Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5.8 |
| Republican Party of the Social Order | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 2.1 |
| Solidariedade | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.7 | 2.0 |
| National Labor Party / Podemos | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 2.3 |
| National Ecologic Party / Patriota | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Labour Party of Brazil / Avante | - | - | 0.2 | - | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
| Humanist Party of Solidarity | - | - | - | - | - | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| Progressive Republican Party | - | - | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| Social Liberal Party | - | - | - | - | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 11.7 |
| Brazilian Labour Renewal Party | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| New Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.8 |
| Sustainability Network | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.8 |
| Others | 0.0 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Referendums
Brazil has held three national referendums in its history. In the first, held on January 6, 1963, the people voted for the re-establishment of the presidential system of government (82% of valid ballots), which had been modified by a constitutional amendment in 1961. A second referendum, as ordered by the Federal Constitution of 1988, was held on April 21, 1993, when the voters voted for a republican form of government and reaffirmed the presidential system.
A third national referendum, on the prohibition of the commerce of personal firearms and ammunition, was held on October 23, 2005. The ban proposal was rejected by 64% of the electorate.
See also
Notes
- ^ Compared to the deputies of the Party of the Republic elected in 2018. The party was renamed Liberal Party in 2019.
- ^ Compared to the combined deputies of the Communist Party of Brazil and of the Free Fatherland Party elected in 2018. The parties merged after that election.
- ^ Compared to the combined deputies of the Social Liberal Party and of Democrats elected in 2018. The parties merged to form Brazil Union in 2022.
- ^ Compared to the deputies of the Brazilian Republican Party elected in 2018. The party was renamed Republicans in 2019.
- ^ Compared to the deputies of the Popular Socialist Party elected in 2018. The party was renamed Cidadania in 2019.
- ^ Compared to the combined deputies of Podemos and of the Humanist Party of Solidarity elected in 2018. The parties merged after that election.
- ^ Compared to the combined deputies of Patriota and of the Progressive Republican Party elected in 2018. The parties merged after that election.
- ^ Compared to the deputies of the Christian Labour Party elected in 2018. The party was renamed Act in 2022.
- ^ Compared to the senators of the Party of the Republic elected in 2014. The party was renamed Liberal Party in 2019.
- ^ Compared to the combined senators of the Communist Party of Brazil and of the Free Fatherland Party elected in 2014. The parties merged after the 2018 election.
- ^ Compared to the senators of the Progressive Party elected in 2014. The party was renamed Progressistas in 2018.
- ^ Compared to the combined senators of Democrats and of the Social Liberal Party elected in 2014. The parties merged to form Brazil Union in 2022.
- ^ Compared to the senators of the Brazilian Republican Party elected in 2014. The party was renamed Republicans in 2019.
- ^ Compared to the combined senators of the National Labour Party and of the Humanist Party of Solidarity elected in 2014. The National Labour Party was renamed Podemos in 2017, and it absorbed the Humanist Party of Solidarity after the 2018 election.
- ^ Compared to the senators of the Popular Socialist Party elected in 2014. The party was renamed Cidadania in 2019.
- ^ Compared to the senators of the Labour Party of Brazil elected in 2014. The party was renamed Avante in 2017.
- ^ Compared to the senators of the Christian Social Democratic Party elected in 2014. The party was renamed Christian Democracy in 2018.
- ^ Compared to the combined senators of the National Ecologic Party and of the Progressive Republican Party elected in 2014. The National Ecologic Party was renamed Patriota in 2018, and it absorbed the Progressive Republican Party after the 2018 election.
- ^ Compared to the senators of the Christian Labour Party elected in 2014. The party was renamed Act in 2022.
References
- ^ Brazil: Lula renounces candidacy ahead of presidential poll
- ^ "Grumpy about voting reform". The Economist. 2011-02-22. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
- ^ "The Federal Senate". Portal da Câmara dos Deputados. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
- ^ Andrianantoandro, Andy (2010-10-14). "Brazil's Presidential Hopefuls Face Runoff, National Congress Needs Reform". FairVote.org. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
- ^ "Como funciona o sistema proporcional?". Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (Superior Electoral Court). Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
- ^ Romao, Mauricio (2010-05-05). "Parlamentares "Eleitos Por Média"". Retrieved 2017-09-01.
- ^ ""Voting is compulsory for Brazilians aged 18 to 70"". Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (Superior Electoral Court). Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
- ^ Power, Timothy J. (2009). "Compulsory for Whom? Mandatory Voting and Electoral Participation in Brazil, 1986-2006". Journal of Politics in Latin America. 1 (1): 97–122. doi:10.1177/1866802x0900100105.
- ^ Stott, Michael; Pooler, Michael; Harris, Bryan (June 22, 2023). "The discreet US campaign to defend Brazil's election". Financial Times. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
External links
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- Simulated voting machine Archived 2010-10-26 at the Wayback Machine (Portuguese) Courtesy of the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court website. (Java required)
- Brief history of electronic voting in Brazil Archived 2010-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Brazil: The Perfect Electoral Crime (II) Archived 2011-06-13 at the Wayback Machine (Security analysis of the Brazilian voting machines by James Burk, Oct. 21, 2006)
- Electoral Law of Brazil
- Inelegibility Law of Brazil
| Presidential elections | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary elections | |
| Gubernatorial elections | |
| State elections | |
| Municipal elections | |
| Regency elections | |
| Referendums | |
