7 October 2018 (2018-10-07) (First round)
28 October 2018 (2018-10-28) (Second round) 2022 → | ||
The next Brazilian general elections are scheduled for October 2018, and will elect the President and Vice President, the National Congress, state Governors and Vice Governors and state Legislative Assemblies.
Contents
The previous presidential elections in Brazil were held in October 2014. Supported by the centre-left Workers' Party, Rousseff was re-elected in the second round of voting with 51.6% of the vote, against 48.4% for her main challenger, Aécio Neves of the centre-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party. Rousseff was first elected in the 2010 elections, succeeding her political mentor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was in office from 2003 until 2011.
Later, on 3 December 2015, impeachment proceedings against Rousseff were officially accepted by the Chamber of Deputies. On 12 May 2016, the Senate of Brazil temporarily suspended President Rousseff's powers and duties for up to six months or until the Senate reached a verdict: to remove her from office if found guilty or to acquit her from the crimes charged. Vice President Michel Temer, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, assumed her powers and duties as Acting President of Brazil during the suspension. On 31 August 2016, the Senate voted 61–20 in favor of impeachment, finding Rousseff guilty of breaking budgetary laws and removing her from office. Vice President Temer succeeded Rousseff as the 37th President of Brazil.
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 (in this instance, 7 October 2018). 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 this instance, 28 October 2018). 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. 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. Voting is mandatory and abstainers can be fined.
Potential candidates
Opinion polls
Since the previous elections, various polling companies have published surveys tracking voting intention for the next presidential elections. The results of these surveys are listed below in reverse chronological order, and include candidates who frequently poll above 3% of the vote, as well as the incumbent President of Brazil, Michel Temer.