Brazilians head to the polls for run-off vote

Brazilians are heading back to the polls this Sunday (Oct. 28). Voters will choose the country’s president, state governors in 13 states and the Federal District, and city mayors in 19 cities.

In the race for president, Jair Bolsonaro, of the Social Liberal Party (PSL) is facing off with Fernando Haddad, of the Workers’ Party (PT).

Of the 27 Brazilian states, 14 will hold a second round of vote: Amazonas, Amapá, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe, Roraima, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo, in addition to the Federal District.

Governors in 13 states won the first round outright. This means that they manage to garner at least 50 percent plus one of valid votes (i.e. blank and null ballots not considered). This was the case in Acre, Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Paraná, and Tocantins.

In addition to choosing their president, voters in 19 cities will choose they mayor. These are supplementary elections and will engage the electorate in five municipalities in Goiás, four in São Paulo, three in Riod e Janeiro, two in Amazonas, one in Rio Grande do Sul, one in Santa Catarina, one in Mato Grosso, one in Ceará, and one in Maranhão. Elected in 2016, the mayors in these municipalities were mostly ousted for vote purchasing, using public assets to make electoral propaganda, and embezzlement of public funds.

The elections for mayor follow a different schedule. They also take place every four years, but two years after the elections for president, governors, senators, and deputies.