Next Brazilian general election

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The next Brazilian general elections are scheduled for 2018, and will elect the President, the National Congress, state governors and state legislatures. However, due to the ongoing political crisis and calls for the impeachment of incumbent President Dilma Rousseff for her alleged involvement in the so-called Petrolão scandals,[1][2][3] the elections may be held sooner if the process ends with the nullification of the previous election by the end of 2016.

The previous presidential election in Brazil was held in October 2014. Supported by the left-wing Workers' Party, Dilma Rousseff was elected in the second round of voting, with 51.6% of the vote, against 48.4% for her main challenger, Aécio Neves of the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party. Rousseff was first elected in the 2010 presidential election, succeeding her political mentor and fellow petista, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in office from 2003 to 2011.

Electoral system

Presidential elections

The president of Brazil is elected using the two-round system. Citizens may field their candidacies for the presidency, and participate in the general elections, which are held on the first Sunday in October.[4] If the most-voted candidate takes more than 50% of the overall vote, he or she is declared elected. If the 50% threshold is not met by any candidate, a second round of voting is held on the last Sunday in October. In the second round, only the two most-voted candidates from the first round may participate. The winner of the second round is elected President of Brazil.

Congressional elections

Two-thirds of the 81 members of the Federal Senate will be elected, the other third having been elected in 2014. Two candidates will be elected from each of the States using majority block voting, with voters able to cast two votes each.[5] All 513 members of the Chamber of Deputies will be elected, with candidates elected from 27 multi-member constituencies based on the states, varying in size from eight to 70 seats. The Chamber elections are held using open list proportional representation, with seats allocated using the simple quotient.[6] Voting is mandatory and abstainers can be fined.[5]

Presidential candidates

Potential

References

  1. ↑ Three Outcomes For Brazil's Political Crisis Forbes, 22 October 2015
  2. ↑ Dilma Rousseff impeachment proceedings cheered as Brazil falls into economic tailspin The Washington Post, 18 January 2016
  3. ↑ Brazil elite profit from $3bn Petrobras scandal as laid-off workers pay the price The Guardian, 20 March 2015
  4. ↑ The Electoral System Library of Congress Country Studies
  5. 1 2 Electoral system IPU
  6. ↑ Electoral system IPU
  7. 1 2 Se Aécio Neves desistir de enfrentar Lula em 2018, Marconi Perillo pode se apresentar para a disputa Jornal Opção
  8. ↑ Jair Bolsonaro é apresentado como pré-candidato à Presidência da República (Portuguese)
  9. ↑ Ciro Gomes é anunciado como pré-candidato à Presidência da República em 2018 (Portuguese)
  10. ↑ Lula da Silva mulling return to Brazilian presidency in 2018 The Guardian, 29 February 2016
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