2026 elections in RN: queues, incidents and technical problems mark the first round

Commercial representative Josué Medeiros was the last voter to vote at the Floriano Cavalcante State School, which is located in Mirassol, in the South Zone of Natal. He voted at around 6:35 pm.

"I expected that at the end of the counting process there might be fewer people, because I had already come before, at around 2pm, the queue was very long and I gave up temporarily. This second time I arrived here at around 4:50pm and I'm leaving now", he said.

Rio Grande do Norte recorded eight incidents related to suspected electoral crimes during the first round, according to a report from Sesed at 5pm. The cases involve suspicions of vote buying and exit polling, with the seizure of money, checks and campaign materials in municipalities such as Macau, Extremoz and Baraúna. In Natal, a man was taken to the police station after being caught with a simulacrum. Despite the incidents, the Secretary of Public Security, Colonel Francisco Araújo, assessed the election as within normal limits.

At the Walfredo Gurgel State School, in Natal, many voters were still waiting in line to vote at 6:20 pm this Sunday, more than an hour after the end of the official opening hours. This is the largest voting place in the capital of Rio Grande do Norte.

At the largest polling place in Mossoró, at Escola Diocesano Santa Luzia, the last voter voted at 6pm, one hour after the end of official voting hours. In this section, 363 voters were eligible to vote and 315 showed up.

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Section 237, on the central campus of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), in Natal, had a queue for around 40 minutes. According to a poll worker at the section, the problem occurred after a voter thought that typing the numbers into the electronic ballot box was in "touchscreen" format, that is, with touches on the screen, as is the case with smartphone cell phones. Unable to vote, the voter reported a possible problem, and the poll workers called a technician to investigate the situation. The urn, however, had no problem.

The candidate for the government of Rio Grande do Norte Dário Barbosa (PSTU) voted this Sunday (4) in the morning at the José do Patrocínio Municipal School, in Conjunto Panorama, in the North Zone of Natal.

After voting, Dário stated that he intends to continue working in defense of workers' rights regardless of the results of the elections.

"We vote now, but, regardless of the election result, we will continue to fight in the streets, in social movements, in defense of workers' rights, regardless of who wins this election," he said.

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