Elmano de Freitas is re-elected governor of Ceará with 54.02% of the votes

Second placed in the dispute, former minister Ciro Gomes (PSDB) had 46.58% of the votes at 9:02 pm. In total, there were 5,198,340 valid votes.

Elmano will govern the state for a second four-year term, starting in January 2027.

Elmano's coalition was the largest among the candidates for governor in Brazil, formed by the parties PSB, PDT, Podemos, Mobiliza, Republicans, MDB, the Solidarity Renewal Federation (from the PRD and Solidariedade parties), the PSOL-Rede Federation and the Brazilian Federation of Hope (PT, PC do B and PV).

Both Elmano and Ciro ran a campaign marked by discussions about public security, health and job creation, in which the names of Lula and Bolsonaro were frequently invoked - whether for praise or criticism.

Elmano launched a campaign based on alignment with the federal government and alliance with President Lula (PT), also a candidate for re-election. Lula's figure constantly appeared in publicity material.

Elmano's campaign was based on the government's good results in areas such as education and job creation. Elmano also made promises related to increased investment in health security and internalization.

Born in Baturité, 100 kilometers from Fortaleza, Elmano de Freitas da Costa moved to Fortaleza at the age of 15 to study. He graduated in Law from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC).

His arrival in Fortaleza coincided with the date on which, after years of dictatorship, the capitals were able to vote for mayor again. In that election, Maria Luíza Fontenele, then a member of the PT, would be elected the first woman to govern Fortaleza, in a historic election.

Elmano participated in Maria Luíza's campaign mobilization and, in 1989, joined the PT, a party in which he continues to this day. Graduated in Law, he began to advocate for the National Network of Popular Lawyers (Renap) and in legal defense of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST).

During years of activism, he ended up getting close to Luizianne Lins, then a member of the PT, who would become the second woman elected to govern Fortaleza. He was Secretary of Education of Fortaleza and coordinator of the Participatory Budget during Luizianne's administration.

Then, the PT member was a candidate for mayor of Fortaleza in 2012, but lost to Roberto Cláudio, then at PSB. The following year, Elmano was elected president of the PT in Fortaleza. In 2014, he was elected state deputy, being re-elected in 2018. In 2020, he ran for mayor of Caucaia, a municipality neighboring Fortaleza, but was not elected.

In the 2022 elections, Elmano's name was chosen to run for government on the recommendation of former governor Camilo Santana (PT). The episode highlighted the end of the 16-year alliance between PT and PDT in Ceará. Members of the PDT at the time, including Ciro Gomes, defended Roberto Cláudio's candidacy.

In the end, the PT launched Elmano as its own candidate and he was elected governor of Ceará in the first round, obtaining 54.02% of the valid votes.