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Brazil is holding elections today to elect the mayors and councilors of the legislative chambers of thousands of cities, with special care for the covid-19 pandemic, which has already caused more than 164 thousand deaths and 5.8 million infected in the country .
The vote will decide who will govern 5,557 Brazilian cities, a number that excludes the Federal District, where the administration of the territory, including the capital of the country, Brasilia, is exercised by the governor, and also Macapá, capital of the state of Amapá, where the vote was held. . delayed due to power supply problems.
The Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the body in charge of organizing and supervising the Brazilian elections, said that on Sunday there will be around 95,000 polling stations and 401,950 polling stations.
To enter polling places, Brazilians will need to wear a mask and respect social distance, and voters have been asked to bring a pen to sign the attendance list. The authorities guarantee that the alcohol gel will be available for use before and after voting at the electronic ballot box.
There will also be a special schedule for people from the so-called covid-19 risk group, such as the elderly, to vote from 7:00 am to 10:00 am (Brasilia).
The polls close at 5:00 p.m. at all polling places, although Brazil has more than one time zone. The results will begin to be announced at the end of the sessions, but this difference should not have an impact on the disclosure of those elected.
In Brazil, the election of mayors (mayors) and municipal parliamentarians is based on an open list system in which the places won by the party or coalition of parties are filled by the most voted candidates. The vote of each candidate by the voter is what determines his position.
In Brazilian cities with more than 200 thousand inhabitants, in which the candidate with the most votes does not reach half of the valid votes plus one (calculation that excludes blank and invalid votes) there will be a second round, on November 29.
In addition to addressing the pandemic, Brazilian municipalities are expected to draw a new political map in which, as polls in the main cities and state capitals anticipate, the winners tend to remain distant from both the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a leftist leader who influences the main opposition force, the Workers Party (PT).
The favorites in the 26 regional capitals, according to the latest polls, are mostly members of center-right parties.
The possible preference of voters for the political center in this year’s municipal elections contrasts with the result of the 2018 elections, in which the right won not only the Presidency, but also important regional governments and many seats in Congress.
According to the latest polls, applications from at least one representative of a centrist party appear in most second-round screenings in the country’s largest cities, and some centrist candidates may even win.
This is the case of Bruno Covas, who intends to be re-elected mayor of São Paulo, the largest city in the country, by the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB, center-right), formed by former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002 ).
A poll released on Thursday by Datafolha showed that Covas has a 32% favoritism and would defeat any rival in a possible second round, followed by left-wing candidate Guilherme Boulos, with 16% voting intentions, the far-right candidate. Celso Russomano (14%), who has the support of Bolsonaro, and the center-left candidate Márcio França (12%).
In Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Curitiba, the center-right Democratic candidates are favorites to win in the first round and also appear in front of any rival in scenarios that project a new vote on November 29.
This is the case of the candidate who leads the race for the city of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, who has 34% of the voting intentions, of the centrist candidate Bruno Reis, with 61% favoritism in Salvador, capital of the state of Bahía, and Rafael. Greca, with about 43% of the voting intentions in Cutitiba, capital of the state of Paraná.
In Belo Horizonte, the third largest city in the country, Mayor Alexandre Kalil, of the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), has 63% of the voting intention and his re-election is practically guaranteed.
Some exceptions to the center-right dominance in the elections are Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul, where the polls are headed by the left-wing candidate Manuela D’Ávila (27%), supported by Lula da Silva, and the city of Fortaleza. , capital of the state of Ceará, where the favorite is Captain Wagner (39%), supported by Bolsonaro.
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