Elections in Brazil
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Brazil |
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| Foreign relations |
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-third 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
| Position | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Presidential (October) National Congress (October) Gubernatorial (October) States and Federal District Parliaments (October) | None | Mayors (October) City Councils (October) | None | Presidential (October) National Congress (October) Gubernatorial (October) States and Federal District Parliaments (October) | None | Mayors (October) City Councils (October) | None |
| President and vice president |
President and vice president | None | President and vice president | None | ||||
| National Congress | All seats (Chamber of Deputies) One third (Federal Senate) | None | All seats (Chamber of Deputies) Two thirds (Federal Senate) | None | ||||
| States, cities and municipalities | All positions (States and Federal District) | None | All positions (Municipalities) | None | All positions (States and Federal District) | None | All positions (Municipalities) | None |
Inauguration
| Position | 2011 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Presidential (January) National Congress (January) Gubernatorial (January) States and Federal District Parliaments (January) | None | Mayors (January) City Councils (January) | None | Presidential (January) National Congress (January) Gubernatorial (January) States and Federal District Parliaments (January) | None | Mayors (January) City Councils (January) | None |
| President and vice president |
1 January | None | 1 January | None | ||||
| National Congress | 1 February | None | 1 February | None | ||||
| States, cities and municipalities | 1 January | None | 1 January | None | 1 January | None | 1 January | None |
Electoral systems
Deputies are elected to the Chamber of Deputies using a form of party-list proportional representation known as the "open list."[1]
Senators are elected to the Federal Senate with a plurality of the vote in a first-past-the-post system, which is not proportional.[2] Three senators are elected for each state and for the Federal District.[3]
Brazilian voting machines
2010 general election
Presidential election
| Presidential candidate | Running mate | 1st Round October 3 |
2nd Round October 31 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Popular vote | |||||
| Absolute | Percentage | Absolute | Percentage | ||
| Dilma Rousseff (PT) | Michel Temer (PMDB) | 47,651,434 | 46.91% | 55,752,529 | 56.05% |
| José Serra (PSDB) | Indio da Costa (DEM) | 33,132,283 | 32.61% | 43,711,388 | 43.95% |
| Marina Silva (PV) | Guilherme Leal (PV) | 19,636,359 | 19.33% | — | |
| Plínio de Arruda Sampaio (PSOL) | Hamilton Assis (PSOL) | 886,816 | 0.87% | — | |
| José Maria Eymael (PSDC) | José Paulo da Silva Neto (PSDC) | 89,350 | 0.09% | — | |
| José Maria de Almeida (PSTU) | Cláudia Durans (PSTU) | 84,609 | 0.08% | — | |
| Levy Fidélix (PRTB) | Luiz Eduardo Ayres Duarte (PRTB) | 57,960 | 0.06% | — | |
| Ivan Pinheiro (PCB) | Edmilson Costa (PCB) | 39,136 | 0.04% | — | |
| Rui Costa Pimenta (PCO) | Edson Dorta Silva (PCO) | 12,206 | 0.01% | — | |
| Valid votes | 101,590,153 | 91.36% | 99,463,917 | 93.30% | |
| → Blank votes | 3,479,340 | 3.13% | 2,452,597 | 2.30% | |
| → Null votes | 6,124,254 | 5.51% | 4,689,428 | 4.40% | |
| Total votes | 111,193,747 | 81.88% | 106,606,214 | 78.50% | |
| → Abstention | 24,610,296 | 18.12% | 29,197,152 | 21.50% | |
| Electorate | 135,804,433 | 100.00% | 135,804,433 | 100.00% | |
Parliamentary election
Summary of the 3 October 2010 National Congress election results
| Coalition | Parties | Chamber | Senate | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | % of seats | +/– | Elected seats | Total seats | % of seats | +/– | |||
| Lulista | PT | 88 | 17.1 | +5 | 12 | 15 | 18.5 | +7 | |
| PMDB | 79 | 15.3 | −10 | 16 | 20 | 24.6 | +3 | ||
| PR | 41 | 7.9 | +16 | 3 | 4 | 4.9 | — | ||
| PSB | 34 | 6.6 | +7 | 3 | 3 | 3.7 | — | ||
| PDT | 28 | 5.4 | +4 | 2 | 4 | 4.9 | −2 | ||
| PSC | 17 | 3.3 | +8 | 1 | 1 | 1.2 | — | ||
| PCdoB | 15 | 2.9 | +2 | 1 | 2 | 2.4 | +1 | ||
| PRB | 8 | 1.5 | +7 | 1 | 1 | 1.2 | −1 | ||
| PTC | 1 | 0.1 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | ||
| PTN | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | ||
| Total | 311 | 60.6 | +37 | 39 | 50 | 61.7 | +8 | ||
| Opposition Centre-right |
PSDB | 53 | 10.3 | −13 | 5 | 11 | 13.5 | −5 | |
| DEM | 43 | 8.3 | −22 | 2 | 6 | 7.4 | −7 | ||
| PTB | 21 | 4.0 | −2 | 1 | 6 | 7.4 | −1 | ||
| PPS | 12 | 2.3 | −10 | 1 | 1 | 1.2 | +1 | ||
| PMN | 4 | 0.7 | +1 | 1 | 1 | 1.2 | +1 | ||
| PTdoB | 3 | 0.5 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | ||
| Total | 136 | 26.5 | –44 | 10 | 25 | 30.8 | –11 | ||
| Lulista Out of coalition |
PP | 41 | 7.9 | — | 3 | 4 | 4.9 | +3 | |
| Opposition Out of coalition |
PV | 15 | 2.9 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | −1 | |
| Opposition Out of coalition |
PSOL | 3 | 0.5 | — | 2 | 2 | 2.4 | +1 | |
| Lulista Out of coalition |
PHS | 2 | 0.3 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | |
| Lulista Out of coalition |
PRP | 2 | 0.3 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | |
| Lulista Out of coalition |
PRTB | 2 | 0.3 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | |
| Lulista Out of coalition |
PSL | 1 | 0.1 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | |
Past elections and referendums
| Presidential elections | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary elections | |
| Municipal elections | |
| Referendums | |
Elections in brackets were indirect | |
Election results 1982–2014
Brazilian legislative elections (Chamber of Deputies), 1982–2014
| Parties | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workers' Party | 03.5 | 06.9 | 10.2 | 12.8 | 13.2 | 18.4 | 15.0 | 16.9 | 14.0 |
| Brazilian Democratic Movement Party | 43.0 | 48,1 | 19.3 | 20.3 | 15.2 | 13.4 | 14.6 | 13.0 | 11.1 |
| Brazilian Social Democracy Party | - | - | 08.7 | 13.9 | 17.5 | 14.3 | 13.6 | 11.9 | 11.4 |
| Liberal Front Party/Democrats | - | 17.7 | 12.4 | 12.9 | 17.3 | 13.4 | 10.9 | 07.6 | 04.2 |
| Liberal Party / Republic Party | - | 02.8 | 04.3 | 03.5 | 02.5 | 04.3 | 04.4 | 07.6 | 05.8 |
| Brazilian Socialist Party | - | 00.9 | 01.9 | 02.2 | 03.4 | 05.3 | 06.2 | 07.1 | 06.5 |
| Progressive Party | - | - | - | 06.9 | 11.3 | 07.8 | 07.1 | 06.6 | 06.4 |
| Democratic Labour Party | 05.8 | 06.5 | 10.0 | 07.2 | 05.7 | 05.1 | 05.2 | 05.0 | 03.6 |
| Brazilian Labour Party | 04.5 | 04.5 | 05.6 | 05.2 | 05.7 | 04.6 | 04.7 | 04.2 | 04.0 |
| Green Party | - | - | - | 00.1 | 00.4 | 01.3 | 03.6 | 03.8 | 02.1 |
| Social Christian Party | - | - | 00.8 | 00.5 | 00.7 | 00.6 | 01.9 | 03.2 | 02.5 |
| Communist Party of Brazil | - | 00.8 | 00.9 | 01.2 | 01.3 | 02.2 | 02.1 | 02.8 | 02.0 |
| Popular Socialist Party | - | 00.9 | 01.0 | 00.6 | 01.3 | 03.1 | 03.9 | 02.6 | 02.0 |
| Brazilian Republican Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 00.3 | 01.7 | 04.5 |
| Socialism and Liberty Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 01.2 | 01.2 | 01.8 |
| Party of National Mobilization | - | - | 00.6 | 00.6 | 00.5 | 00.3 | 00.9 | 01.1 | 00.5 |
| Democratic Social / Reform Progressive Party | 43.2 | 07.8 | 08.9 | 09.4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| National Reconstruction Party / Christian Labour Party | - | - | 08.3 | 00.4 | 00.1 | 00.1 | 00.9 | 00.6 | 00.7 |
| Christian Democratic Party / Christian Social Democratic Party | - | 01.2 | 03.0 | - | 00.1 | 00.2 | 00.4 | 00.2 | 00.5 |
| Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order | - | - | - | 00.7 | 00.9 | 02.1 | 01.0 | - | - |
| Social Democratic Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 06.2 |
| Republican Party of the Social Order | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 02.0 |
| Solidarity | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 02.7 |
| National Labour Party | - | - | - | - | 00.1 | 00.1 | 00.2 | 00.2 | 00.4 |
| National Ecologic Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 00.7 |
| Labour Party of Brazil | - | - | 00.2 | - | 00.3 | 00.2 | 00.3 | 00.7 | 00.8 |
| Humanist Party of Solidarity | - | - | - | - | - | 00.3 | 00.5 | 00.8 | 00.9 |
| Progressive Republican Party | - | - | 00.2 | 00.5 | 00.4 | 00.3 | 00.3 | 00.3 | 00.7 |
| Social Liberal Party | - | - | - | - | 00.3 | 00.5 | 00.2 | 00.5 | 00.8 |
| Brazilian Labour Renewal Party | - | - | - | 00.1 | 00.1 | 00.3 | 00.2 | 00.3 | 00.5 |
| Others | 00.0 | 02.8 | 03.7 | 00.7 | 01.7 | 01.5 | 00.4 | 00.0 | 00.7 |
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 voterate.
See also
References
- ↑ "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.
External links
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- Simulated voting machine (Portuguese) Courtesy of the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court website. (Java required)
- Brief history of electronic voting in Brazil
- Brazil: The Perfect Electoral Crime (II) (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 | |
| Municipal elections | |
| Referendums | |
Elections in brackets were indirect | |