2020 Brazilian municipal elections

Municipal elections took place in Brazil on 15 November 2020 (and 29 November, for cities with more than 200,000 voters where the second polling date was available).[1] Electors chose Mayors, Vice-Mayors and City Councillors of all 5,568 cities of the country. The partisan conventions took place between 31 August and 16 September. They were the first elections since Bolsonaro's election as President.

2020 Brazilian municipal elections

← 2016 15 November 2020 (first round)
29 November 2020 (second round, if necessary)
2024 →

  • 5,570 mayors
  • 56,810 councillors
 
Leader Bruno Araújo Baleia Rossi Alfredo Cotait Neto
Party PSDB MDB PSD
Leader since 31 May 2019 6 October 2019 8 June 2016
Popular vote 10,332,139 10,290,749 10,145,167
Councillors 4,377 7,335 5,694
Councillors +/– Decrease987 Decrease225 Increase1,044
Mayors 520 784 654
Mayors +/– Decrease265 Decrease251 Increase117

 
Leader ACM Neto Ciro Nogueira Gleisi Hoffmann
Party DEM PP PT
Leader since 8 March 2018 11 April 2013 5 July 2017
Popular vote 8,066,979 7,372,094 6,684,113
Councillors 4,341 6,346 2,665
Councillors +/– Increase1,436 Increase1,603 Decrease150
Mayors 464 685 183
Mayors +/– Increase198 Increase191 Decrease71

Electoral calendar

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The Superior Electoral Court defined on 17 December 2019 the Electoral Calendar for 2020 Brazilian municipal election. According to the calendar, the first round should take place on 4 October, and the second round, on 25 October, from 8 am to 5 pm in both cases. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, these dates were moved forward to 15 November and 29 November, respectively.[2][3]

2020 Electoral Calendar
Date Event
1 January Entities or companies conducting polls related to elections or possible candidates are required to register information in the Electoral Polling Registration System up to 5 days before disclosure
1 January Free distribution of goods, values or benefits by the public administration is prohibited, except in cases of public calamity, state of emergency or social programs authorized by law and already under budget execution in the previous year
1 April TSE starts to broadcast institutional advertisements on radio and TV to encourage female, youth and black community participation in politics
4 April Limit for political parties interested in running for election to have the registrations approved by the TSE
15 May Pre-candidates will be able to make prior fundraising in crowdfunding
4 July It is forbidden to hire artistic shows paid for with public funds when conducting inaugurations
31 August Conventions are allowed to choose coalitions and candidates for Mayor, Vice-Mayor and City Councilor
31 August Last day for the Electoral Justice to disclose the spending limits for each position in dispute
16 September Last day for conventions for choosing coalitions and candidates for Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilor
26 September Last day for parties and coalitions to submit an application for registration of candidates to the Electoral Court
26 September Date from which electoral propaganda will be allowed, including on the internet
31 October Date from which no candidate may be arrested or detained, except in flagrante delicto
5 November Last day for the voter to request a duplicate of the ticket within the electoral domicile
10 November Date from which no voter can be arrested or detained, except in flagrante delicto or by virtue of a condemnatory criminal sentence for an unspeakable crime
12 November Last day to broadcast free electoral propaganda on radio and TV for the first round
12 November Last day for radio and TV debates for the first round
15 November First Round
27 November Last day to broadcast free electoral propaganda on radio and TV for the second round
27 November Last day for radio and TV debates for the second round
29 November Second Round

Background

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The 2020 municipal elections are the first since the general elections of 2018, marking the rise of bolsonarism, a movement in support of President Jair Bolsonaro, and a new political-electoral dynamic emerging on the political scene; in a way, an assessment of the President's electoral strength.[4]

The 2018 general elections, in addition to choosing the President of the Republic, the Governors of State and the Federal District, Senators and Federal, State and District Deputies, granted new mayors to many cities in the country. This happened due to article 14, §6, of the Constitution, establishing that:

To run for other positions, the President of the Republic, the State and Federal District Governors and the Mayors must resign their respective mandates up to six months before the election. — Article 14, §6, of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brasil[5]

Thus, many mayors, wishing to run for other positions, had to resign their mandate until 5 April 2018, starting a new management in such municipalities. Those who took on such management would be responsible for the remaining period, that is, until 31 December 2020.

The following mayors resigned from their post to be a candidate for governor in 2018:

Of the mayors mentioned above, only one was successful, João Dória, the others, in addition to not winning the elections they disputed, lost their positions as Mayor.[11][12][13][14]

In March 2020, a discussion involving the postponement of the election surrounded the Congress, due to the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil. Some mayors and federal deputies propose that the election should be rescheduled to 2021 or 2022, fusing with the 2022 general election.[15][16][17] Both President of the Superior Electoral Court, Justice Rosa Weber, and President of the Chamber of Deputies, deputy Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), state that it is "a premature debate" and that it could cause "a very large institutional risk", respectively.[18][19] Federal deputy Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) filed in a bill to postpone the election to October 2022 and unify all the elections, reduce the term length for senators to four years, ban re-election for executive seats (president, governors and mayors) and increase their term length to five years.[20]

The year 2020 marks the entry of Generation Z into the electoral race, with the youngest group being between 18 and 20 years old,[21] the increase in the number of applications from religious priests[22] and the multiplication of candidates who present themselves armed and in favor of armamentism.[23]

Election system

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Mayoral election

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The mayoral election has a difference depending on the population of the municipality in question. In municipalities with up to 200,000 voters the first-past-the-post system is used, while in municipalities more than 200,000 the two-round system is used, in compliance with article 77 of the Constitution.[5]

The Municipality will be governed by an organic law, voted in two rounds, with a minimum intersection of ten days, and approved by two-thirds of the members of the City Council, who will promulgate it, in compliance with the principles established in this Constitution, in the Constitution of the respective State and the following precepts:

I – election of the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor and the Councilors, for a term of four years, by means of a direct and simultaneous election held throughout the country;

II – election of the Mayor and the Vice-Mayor held on the first Sunday of October of the year preceding the end of the mandate of those who must succeed, applying the rules of art. 77, in the case of Municipalities with more than two hundred thousand voters;

III – inauguration of the Mayor and the Vice-Mayor on 1 January of the year following the election;

IV – for the composition of the City Councils, the maximum limit of:

[Limited number of members of the City Councils in the country according to the number of inhabitants, ranging from 9 councilors (for cities with uo 15,000 people) to 55 councilors (for cities with more than 8,000,000, only one Municipality: São Paulo)]

[...]

— Article 29 of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil[5]

The election of the President and Vice-President of the Republic will take place, simultaneously, on the first Sunday of October, in the first round, and on the last Sunday of October, in the second round, if any, of the previous year. the end of the current presidential term.

§1. The election of the President of the Republic will import that of the Vice-President registered with him.

§2. The candidate who, registered by a political party, obtains an absolute majority of votes will be considered elected, not counting the blank and null votes.

§3. If no candidate reaches an absolute majority in the first vote, a new election will be held within twenty days after the result is proclaimed, with the two most voted candidates running and the one with the most valid votes being considered elected.

§4. If, before the second round takes place, death, withdrawal or legal impediment of a candidate occurs, the one with the most votes will be called, among the remainder.

§5. If, in the hypothesis of the previous paragraphs, more than one candidate with the same vote remains in second place, the oldest will be qualified.

— Article 77 of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil.[5]

City Council election

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The election for City Councils uses the system of proportional representation by open list, however, unlike previous elections, there will be no formation of coalitions for Municipal Legislative Powers, so each party will form a separate list.[4][24]

Results

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National results

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PartyVotes%Seats
Mayors+/-Councillors+/-
Brazilian Social Democracy Party10,332,13910.53654 2654377 987
Brazilian Democratic Movement10,290,74910.49784 2517335 225
Social Democratic Party10,145,16710.34654 1175694 1044
Democrats8,066,9798.22464 1984341 1436
Progressistas7,372,0947.52685 1916346 1603
Workers' Party6,684,1136.81183 712665 150
Brazilian Socialist Party5,124,5125.22252 1513029 606
Democratic Labour Party5,092,3675.19314 173441 329
Republicanos4,860,0704.95211 1082601 980
Liberal Party4,552,0774.64345 543467 448
Podemos2,868,3552.92102 731528 114
Social Liberal Party2,764,4372.8290 601205 327
Brazilian Labour Party2,566,1792.62212 422474 590
Cidadania2,511,1262.56139 221585 92
Socialism and Liberty Party2,208,1002.255 389 33
Social Christian Party2,075,7372.12116 301510 18
Patriota1,900,7621.9449 36719 420
Solidariedade1,880,3291.9294 341348 90
Avante1,374,9711.4082 711054 565
Republican Party of the Social Order1,295,2131.3241 9754 233
Communist Party of Brazil1,143,9411.1746 34697 427
Brazilian Labour Renewal Party831,8730.856 3220 171
Green Party708,6410.7247 51805 717
New Party384,3330.391 129 25
Sustainability Network376,1560.385 1144 36
Christian Democracy224,9310.231 7123 296
Christian Labour Party182,9520.191 15220 353
Party of National Mobilization156,6750.1613 15200 326
Brazilian Woman's Party60,4450.061 246 170
United Socialist Workers' Party33,3240.030 0 
Popular Unity16,1960.020New0New
Brazilian Communist Party2,4160.000 0 1
Workers' Cause Party1,1880.000 0 
Total98,088,547100.00559758046
Valid votes98,088,54789.94
Invalid votes7,054,3026.47
Blank votes3,915,1033.59
Total votes109,057,952100.00
Registered voters/turnout147,918,48373.73

Results in capitals

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Capital State Mayor Party Vice Mayor Party
Aracaju   Sergipe Edvaldo Nogueira PDT Katarina Feitoza PSD
Belém   Pará Edmilson Rodrigues PSOL Edilson Moura PT
Belo Horizonte   Minas Gerais Alexandre Kalil PSD Fuad Noman PSD
Boa Vista   Roraima Arthur Henrique MDB Cássio Gomes MDB
Campo Grande   Mato Grosso do Sul Marcos Trad PSD Adriane Lopes Patriota
Cuiabá   Mato Grosso Emanuel Pinheiro MDB José Roberto Stopa PV
Curitiba   Paraná Rafael Greca DEM Eduardo Pimentel PSD
Florianópolis   Santa Catarina Gean Loureiro DEM Topázio Neto Republicanos
Fortaleza   Ceará José Sarto PDT Élcio Batista PSB
Goiânia   Goiás Maguito Vilela MDB Rogério Cruz Republicanos
João Pessoa   Paraíba Cícero Lucena PP Leonardo Bezerra Cidadania
Macapá   Amapá Antônio Furlan Cidadania Monica Penha MDB
Maceió   Alagoas João Henrique Caldas PSB Ronaldo Lessa PDT
Manaus   Amazonas David Almeida Avante Marcos Rotta DEM
Natal   Rio Grande do Norte Álvaro Dias PSDB Aíla Cortez PDT
Palmas   Tocantins Cinthia Ribeiro PSDB Lucas Meira PSB
Porto Alegre   Rio Grande do Sul Sebastião Melo MDB Ricardo Gomes MDB
Porto Velho   Rondônia Hildon Chaves PSDB Maurício Carvalho PSDB
Recife   Pernambuco João Campos PSB Isabella de Roldão PDT
Rio Branco   Acre Tião Bocalom PP Marfiza Galvão PSD
Rio de Janeiro   Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes DEM Nilton Caldeira PL
Salvador   Bahia Bruno Soares Reis DEM Ana Paula Matos PDT
São Luís   Maranhão Eduardo Braide PODE Esmênia Miranda PSD
São Paulo   São Paulo Bruno Covas PSDB Ricardo Nunes MDB
Teresina   Piauí José Pessoa Leal MDB Robert Rios PSB
Vitória   Espírito Santo Lorenzo Pazolini Republicanos Estéfane Ferreira Republicanos

References

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  1. ^ "Saiba quais regras vão vigorar nas eleições municipais de 2020". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 4 October 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Eleições 2020: confira as datas do calendário eleitoral". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 18 December 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Eleições 2020: confira as datas do calendário eleitoral". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Eleição de 2020 já tem mais de 200 pré-candidatos a prefeituras de capitais". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "Constituição da república federativa do Brasil de 1988". planalto.gov.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Você sabia? Além de Amastha, outros quatros prefeitos renunciaram os cargos no TO | Gazeta do Cerrado |". | Gazeta do Cerrado | (in Brazilian Portuguese). 9 April 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Prefeito de Natal anuncia renúncia ao cargo e pré-candidatura ao Governo do RN". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 6 April 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Com renúncia de Marcus Alexandre, PT perde único prefeito entre as Capitais". ContilNet – O Acre em um só lugar – Portal de Notícias do Acre (in Brazilian Portuguese). 27 March 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Doria renuncia ao cargo, e Bruno Covas é o novo prefeito de São Paulo". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 6 April 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  10. ^ "José Ronaldo deixa o cargo de prefeito de Feira de Santana". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 7 April 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Resultado da apuração das Eleições 2018 – Acre para governador, senador, deputado federal e deputado estadual". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Resultado da apuração do 2º turno das Eleições 2018 – Rio Grande do Norte (RN) para governador, senador, deputado federal e deputado estadual". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  13. ^ "João Doria, do PSDB, é eleito governador de São Paulo". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 October 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Resultado da apuração das Eleições 2018 – Bahia para governador, senador, deputado federal e deputado estadual". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Prefeitos defendem adiamento de eleições e votação única" (in Portuguese). Estado de Minas. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  16. ^ Borges, Laryssa (29 March 2020). "Centrão deve intensificar em abril movimento para adiar eleições" (in Portuguese). Veja. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Senadores defendem adiamento das eleições municipais para 2022" (in Portuguese). Senado Notícias. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  18. ^ Sanches, Mariana (29 March 2020). "Coronavírus pode causar o adiamento das eleições nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil?" (in Portuguese). BBC News Brasil. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  19. ^ Calcagno, Luiz (27 March 2020). "Adiar eleição é um 'risco institucional muito grande', afirma Maia" (in Portuguese). Correio Braziliense. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  20. ^ Alves, Fransciny (27 March 2020). "Aécio apresentará projeto para unificação das eleições e mandato de cinco anos" (in Portuguese). O Tempo. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  21. ^ "A estreia dos candidatos da geração Z" [The debut of the Z generation candidates] (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Puxadas por Universal, candidaturas de sacerdotes religiosos batem recorde em 2020" [Pulled by Universal, applications from religious priests break record in 2020]. Agência Pública (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Candidatos armados se multiplicam nas campanhas eleitorais" [Armed candidates multiply in election campaigns] (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 November 2020. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  24. ^ "Entenda as mudanças na lei eleitoral que agora barram coligações para o Legislativo". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 16 September 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.