Ceará records 15 electoral events and 40 ballot boxes replaced in the first round

Ceará recorded 15 incidents involving the elections, four of them in Fortaleza. Occurrences include electoral crimes and common crimes against candidates, at voting or counting places and occurrences/incidents. Across Brazil, there were 361 of these occurrences.

The information is contained in a Federal Police report released this Sunday afternoon (4).

The candidate for the Senate for Ceará, Captain Wagner (União), voted this Sunday (4) in Fortaleza. He arrived at the polling place around 1 pm, accompanied by Government candidate Ciro Gomes, deputy Roberto Cláudio, Senate candidate Alcides Fernandes and deputy André Fernandes, among other supporters.

Wagner declared that, if elected, he intends to help Ciro implement technological measures in the area of public security, tighten legislation against organized crime, among other projects:

"We are very happy. The hope is that voters in Ceará can make their choice with conscience, despite everything we faced in this campaign. Ciro was the great leader of this movement, who faced the STF, the machines of the Federal Government, the State Government and the city halls (...) I hope the result is satisfactory so that we can help Ciro with resources."

Balance of electronic voting machines replaced in Ceará

Forty electronic voting machines have been replaced in Ceará since voting began, due to technical problems. Of these, 7 were exchanged in Fortaleza and 33 in the interior of the State.

The information was passed on by the president of the Regional Electoral Court of Ceará (TRE-CE), judge Maria Iraneide Moura Silva, during a press conference in the early afternoon of this Sunday (4).

According to the TRE, the failures represent 0.16% of the total 23 thousand ballot boxes available in the State.

The candidate for the government of Ceará Zé Batista (PSTU) voted this Sunday (4) at Escola Municipal Prof. Luís Recamonde Capelo, in the Bonsucesso neighborhood, in Fortaleza. He arrived at the polling place around 12pm, accompanied by allies.

After voting, Zé Batista spoke about the importance of presenting an electoral program aimed at workers. "We just voted and we are there with a clear conscience. We fought a good fight, we presented the program for the working class, independent, a program consistent with the nature of our party", he stated.

TRE advises voting at times with less movement

For those who have not yet voted, the TRE recommends, if possible, giving preference to the period between 11am and 3pm. According to Lorena Moraes, TRE-CE Elections Secretary, historically this interval records a smaller flow of voters.

There is, however, no defined average time for each vote. The duration varies according to each voter. The secretary explained that, considering all the steps, it takes 25 clicks on the electronic ballot box, between entering candidate numbers and confirmations. The time may be even longer if the voter needs to correct a choice.

TRE guides voters to speed up voting

According to the secretary, poll workers are advised to adopt procedures that can speed up service. An example is carrying out tasks in parallel: while a voter is at the electronic ballot box, the section secretary can check the documents of the next voters waiting in line.

The TRE also advises voters to adopt some measures to reduce waiting times.

One of them is to check the location and voting station in advance. Another recommendation is to arrive at the location with an identification document in hand, facilitating the presentation procedure at the reception desk.

The Electoral Court also recommends that voters take a paper "glue" with the candidates' numbers. The measure helps to reduce time inside the voting booth.

The candidate for the Government of Ceará for Novo, Vera Lúcia, voted at 11 am this Sunday (4), in Fortaleza. The candidate exercised her right to vote at the Maria Mãe da Igreja Pastoral Center, in the center of the capital of Ceará.

"Voting is the only form of change. I hope the Novo Party grows in Ceará. It is a party that has non-negotiable values, and we proved that in this campaign. We do not negotiate our vote", he stated. After the vote, Vera Lúcia participated in a mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Fortaleza.

Long lines to vote

Voters face long queues at several polling stations in Ceará this Sunday (4), the day of the first round of elections. There are complaints of delays in different cities across the state. According to the Regional Electoral Court of Ceará (TRE-CE), however, the formation of queues in some locations is expected due to the number of positions that need to be chosen in this election.

According to Lorena Moraes, Secretary of Elections at TRE-CE, the electoral offices informed the Electoral Court about the formation of queues in some locations. She explained that voting tends to be slower because it is a general election, in which each voter needs to make six choices.

"We are in a general election, with six positions. So, an election that naturally tends to be a slower election," stated Lorena.

The candidate for the Ceará government Ciro Gomes (PSDB) voted this Sunday (2), at the headquarters of the Ceará State Health Secretariat (Sesa), in the Praia de Iracema neighborhood, in Fortaleza.

He arrived at the voting place at around 10:44 am, accompanied by his wife Giselle Bezerra, vice-president Roberto Cláudio (União Brasil), Senate candidates Captain Wagner (União) and Alcides Fernandes (PL), among other supporters.

After voting, Ciro spoke about the expectation for the result of the vote for the Government of Ceará and criticized the opposition, stating that they used maneuvers that he called "corrupt dictatorship".

The candidate for the government of Ceará Elmano de Freitas (PT) voted this Sunday (4) in the city of Caucaia, in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza (RMF). He arrived at the voting location around 9:30 am, accompanied by senator Camilo Santana, vice candidate Gabriella Aguiar, mayor of Fortaleza Evandro Leitão, Senate candidate Luizianne Lins (Rede), Senate candidate Cid Gomes (PSB), among other supporters.

After voting, Elmano spoke about the expectation of victory for President Lula's allies in Ceará. He also stated that combating organized crime, building new hospitals in the interior of the state and transforming all schools in Ceará into full-time and professional schools are some of the main demands in a possible re-election.

Vera Lúcia, candidate for governor of Ceará for Novo, felt a fever and went to the hospital just before voting. According to the candidate's team, she only felt mild symptoms, was treated and then went to the polling place.

The candidate should have gone to the voting place, at the Centro Pastoral Maria Mãe da Igreja, in the Center of Fortaleza, at 9 am, but after the symptoms, the candidate's team informed that her vote should take place at around 10:30 am.