2026 Brazilian general election

Voters

Voting in Brazil is allowed for citizens over 16 years of age and mandatory for literate citizens between 18 and 70 years of age, except conscripts, who are not allowed to vote during their period of mandatory military service.^[10] Those who are required but do not vote in an election and do not present an acceptable justification, such as being absent from their voting locality at the time,^[11] must pay a fine, normally R$3.51,^[12][13] equivalent to about US$0.70 as of 2026. In some cases, the fine may be waived, reduced, or increased by up to 10 times.^[14]

Brazilian citizens residing abroad may only vote for president and vice president.^[15] Under the Equality Statute between Brazil and Portugal, Portuguese citizens legally residing in Brazil for more than three years may also register to vote in Brazilian elections.^[16]

About 158.7 million people were eligible to vote in the 2026 Brazilian elections.^[17]

Candidates and political parties

All candidates for federal, state, Federal District, and municipal offices must be nominated by a political party. For offices to be elected by majority or plurality (executive offices and senators), parties may form an electoral coalition (coligação) to nominate a single candidate. The coalitions do not need to be composed of the same parties for every nomination, do not need to be maintained after the election, and are not valid for offices to be elected proportionally (deputies and aldermen).^[18] Parties may also form a different type of alliance called federation (federação), which acts as a single party to nominate candidates for all offices in all locations, including those to be elected proportionally, and must be maintained with a single leadership structure over the course of the elected legislature.^[19] Federations may also act as parties to form coalitions. For the 2026 election, the registered federations are Brazil of Hope (PT–PCdoB–PV), Always Forward (PSDB–Cidadania), PSOL REDE Federation (PSOL–REDE), Solidary Renewal (PRD–Solidarity), and Progressive Union (Union–PP).^[20]

For offices to be elected proportionally, each party must nominate candidates of each sex in a distribution between 30 and 70%.^[18] Parties must also allocate their funds and broadcast time proportionally to the number of their candidates of each sex and race, with a minimum of 30% of funds for Black and Brown candidates.^[21][22]

Procedure

Voting in Brazilian elections can only be done in person and only on election day, which is always a Sunday. There is no provision for postal or early voting. Voter registration must be done in advance, and each voter can only vote in one designated voting station, either based on the voter's registered domicile or at a different location that the voter must specifically request if planning to be there temporarily on election day. Voters must provide photo identification at their voting station before proceeding to vote.^[23]

About 95,000 voting stations are installed in all municipalities of Brazil, the Federal District, and Fernando de Noronha.^[24] Most voting stations are in public schools.^[25] In some sparsely populated areas, such as indigenous territories, the installation and use of voting stations requires extensive travel and logistics.^[26] Voting stations are also installed in 164 locations in other countries, mostly in Brazilian diplomatic missions, for citizens residing abroad.^[27]

Voting is done almost entirely on direct-recording electronic voting machines, designed for extreme simplicity. The voter dials a number corresponding to the desired candidate or party, causing the name and photo of the candidate or party to appear on the screen, then the voter presses a green button to confirm or an orange button to correct and try again. It is also possible to leave the vote blank by pressing a white button, or to nullify the vote by dialing a number that does not correspond to any candidate or party. Paper ballots are only used in case a voting machine malfunctions or in locations abroad with fewer than 100 voters.^[23]

The electronic system is subject to extensive tests, including on machines randomly selected from actual voting stations on election day, witnessed by political parties to rule out fraud. After voting ends, every machine prints a record of its total votes for each candidate or party, which is publicly displayed for comparison with the results published electronically.^[28] The system delivers the complete election results usually a few hours after voting ends, which is extremely fast for such a large population as Brazil. However, the system does not create a physical record of individual votes to allow a full recount.^[29]

Voting stations operate at the same time in the whole country, regardless of their time zone: 9:00 to 18:00 UTC−02:00, 8:00 to 17:00 UTC−03:00, 7:00 to 16:00 UTC−04:00, and 6:00 to 15:00 UTC−05:00.^[23] The unified voting time does not apply to voting stations for citizens abroad, which operate from 8:00 to 17:00 local time, ranging from 16 hours before to 4 hours after those in Brazil.^[30]

Administration

Unusual in the world, Brazilian elections are administered by the judiciary.^[31][32] The country has one Superior Electoral Court (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, TSE), and each state and the Federal District have a Regional Electoral Court (Tribunal Regional Eleitoral, TRE), all headed by judges selected from other courts.^[33] The electoral courts are responsible not only for judicial tasks such as ruling on disputes and potential violations of electoral law, but also for actually implementing the elections, such as registering voters and candidates, installing voting machines, counting votes, publishing the results, as well as issuing regulations and monitoring compliance.^[31][32]

Confirmed candidates

More information Party, Presidential candidate ...

Party		Presidential candidate[34]		Vice presidential candidate[a]		Coalition	Free airtime [b]
	Workers' Party (PT 13)		Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (campaign) President of Brazil (2003–2011, 2023–present) Federal deputy for São Paulo (1987–1991)		Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) Vice President of Brazil (2023–present) Governor of São Paulo (2001–2006, 2011–2018) Vice Governor of São Paulo (1995–2001) Federal deputy for São Paulo (1987–1995) Mayor of Pindamonhangaba (1977–1982)	Brazil Ready for More: Brazil of Hope (PT, PCdoB, PV) PSOL REDE Federation (PSOL, REDE) Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) Democratic Labour Party (PDT)	5min32s
	Mission Party (MISSÃO 14)		Renan Santos		Aroldo Medina	Standalone party	—N/a
	United Socialist Workers' Party (PSTU 16)		Hertz Dias		Vanessa Portugal	Standalone party	—N/a
	Brazilian Communist Party (PCB 21)		Edmilson Costa		Cleusa Santos	Standalone party	—N/a
	Liberal Party (PL 22)		Flávio Bolsonaro (campaign) Senator for Rio de Janeiro (2019–present)		Alfredo Gaspar Federal deputy for Alagoas (2023–present)	Standalone party	4min20s
	Christian Democracy (DC 27)		Clariana Barão		Fabiana Torquato	Standalone party	—N/a
	Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (PRTB 28)		Leonardo Avalanche[c]		Silvia Hellen da Silva Pereira[c]	Standalone party	—N/a
	Workers' Cause Party (PCO 29)		Rui Costa Pimenta		Antônio Carlos	Standalone party	—N/a
	New Party (NOVO 30)		Romeu Zema Governor of Minas Gerais (2019–2026)		Eduardo Girão Senator for Ceará (2019–present)	Standalone party	—N/a
	Democrata (DEMOCRATA 35)		Wilson Grassi		Suêd Haidar	Standalone party	—N/a
	Social Democratic Party (PSD 55)		Ronaldo Caiado (campaign) Governor of Goiás (2019–2026) Senator for Goiás (2015–2019) Federal deputy for Goiás (1991–1995, 1999–2015)		Gilberto Kassab Minister of Science and Technology (2016–2019) Minister of Cities (2015–2016) Mayor of São Paulo (2006–2013) Vice Mayor of São Paulo (2005–2006) Federal deputy for São Paulo (1999–2005)	Standalone party	2min02s
	Avante (AVANTE 70)		Augusto Cury		Júlio Delgado Federal deputy for Minas Gerais (1999–2000, 2003–2023)	Brazil of Our Dreams: Avante Agir	36s
	Popular Unity (UP 80)		Samara Martins		Raquel Brício	Standalone party	—N/a

Close

Potential candidates who did not run

Early developments

In late-October 2025, President Lula da Silva announced the beginning of his re-election campaign, running for a fourth presidential term.^[77][78] Some raised concerns about Lula's age, especially following a fall and brain bleed he suffered in December 2024.^[78] Days after his announcement, Operation Containment — a police operation in Rio de Janeiro that resulted in 120 deaths, making it the deadliest police operation in the city's history — took place. Valor International reported that Lula used the operation to project a tough-on-crime image.^[79] Polls at the time from Quaest reported that 38% of respondents made crime their primary concern.^[77]

In December 2025, Flávio Bolsonaro, senator of Rio de Janeiro and son of the imprisoned Jair Bolsonaro, announced his intended candidacy.^[77][80] Shortly after his announcement, he suggested dropping out of the campaign in return for favors, saying "There's a possibility I won't go all the way, ... have a price for that. I will negotiate."^[80] Many believed this meant that Bolsonaro was saying he would drop out of the election if his father was released from prison.^[80] Bolsonaro later retracted this statement saying that after speaking with his father, he would continue with his campaign.^[80]

Corruption scandals

Part of the campaign's key issues were overshadowed by the advance of two ongoing investigations, which touched figures across all three branches of government and from parties across the spectrum — both government allies and the opposition — including presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro himself.

The first is the Banco Master scandal, which triggered a Central Bank intervention over suspected accounting fraud and misappropriation of funds. The case involves these figures' relationships with former banker Daniel Vorcaro, the institution's former controlling shareholder: senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, senator Ciro Nogueira — who served as Chief of Staff (Casa Civil) under Jair Bolsonaro — and senator Jaques Wagner, then Lula government's leader in the Senate. All four appear in messages, contracts or dealings linked to Vorcaro, some already under direct investigation.^{[81][82][83][84][85]}

The second is the INSS fraud scandal, which involves unauthorized deductions from retirees' and pensioners' benefits, tied to associations and unions accused of passing part of the proceeds on to public officials. The case has implicated President Lula's eldest son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva (Lulinha), and the president's chief of staff, Marco Aurélio Santana, both investigated for alleged influence trafficking over their proximity to Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes — known as "Careca do INSS" — the accused operator of the scheme.^[86]

The two cases, unfolding simultaneously, have drawn attention away from campaign coverage and put pressure on candidates directly or indirectly linked to the figures involved, shifting the debate from campaign issues to the investigations' daily revelations.^[87][88]

September Institutional Crisis at the Federal Supreme Court

On 1 September 2026, the situation escalated into an institutional crisis at the STF, with the revelation of messages exchanged between Justice Alexandre de Moraes and banker Daniel Vorcaro — including on the day of his arrest — whose confidentiality had been lifted by Justice André Mendonça.^[89] The messages revealed indications of improper closeness between the two, along with other revelations involving Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet.^[90] In response, on 3 September, Moraes requested that an investigation be opened against Mendonça as part of the Fake News Inquiry, for his handling of the Master case investigation.^[91]

The situation escalated further on 8 September, when Mendonça ordered the preventive removal of the Federal Police's Director-General, Andrei Rodrigues, alleging that he had been illegally monitored by the PF.^[92] The following day, 9 September, Justice Flávio Dino ordered the immediate reinstatement of Rodrigues, creating a standoff. Later that same day, the Court's president, Justice Edson Fachin, suspended both Mendonça's decision and Dino's, maintaining the status quo until a final ruling, and removed Moraes as rapporteur of the Fake News Inquiry, taking over the case himself.^[93][94] Fachin also called an extraordinary session for 15 September, at which the full court is expected to rule on the legality of Mendonça's actions, the validity of the evidence obtained from Vorcaro's phone, and the Prosecutor General's Office's request to annul the entire procedure.^[95]

On 15 September, the Supreme Court began hearing the request for Justice Alexandre de Moraes to be investigated. The discussion, however, was limited to preliminary matters. The vote currently stands at 4–4 against merging the petition on opening an investigation into Moraes (PET 16662) with the one concerning Justice André Mendonça (PET 16704), in a joint session scheduled for 23 September. Justices Edson Fachin, André Mendonça, Luiz Fux, and Cármen Lúcia voted against the merger. Justices Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin, Alexandre de Moraes, and Gilmar Mendes voted in favor.^[96][97] In the event of a tie, the decision falls to Chief Justice Fachin — however, the announcement of the result was postponed due to Justice Dino's request for more time to review the case (pedido de vista).^[98] Justices Nunes Marques and Dias Toffoli declared themselves recused from the case.^[99]

First round

President

Chamber of Deputies

Federal Senate