Polls are open throughout Brazil; follow the 2nd round of elections

The polls are open for the start of voting in the 2nd round of elections in the country.

More than 158 million voters will be able to return to the polls this Sunday (25) to decide one of the most fierce disputes for the Presidency of the Republic in the country's history.

Candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) are competing in the second round of the presidential elections this Sunday (25). The winner of the dispute will take office on a new date. Previously, the new incumbent took office on January 1st of the year following the election.

The ceremony marks the beginning of the new presidential term, which will last four years, until January 2031. In addition to the inauguration of the President of the Republic, the inaugurations of state governors also underwent changes. The dates were changed by Constitutional Amendment No. 111, approved in September 2021.

The dispute in the second round of the 2026 Elections takes place between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Flávio Bolsonaro (PL). Brazilian electoral legislation provides for a tiebreaker criterion for this situation. The rule is provided for in article 110 of the Electoral Code. For this to happen, however, both candidates would need to receive exactly the same number of valid votes. A difference of just one vote would be enough to define the outcome of the election.

The first country to end voting for the Presidency of the Republic this Sunday was New Zealand, at around 1 am. According to TSE data, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) registered 418 votes (80.54%), and Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), 101 votes (19.46%).

More than 158 million Brazilians can return to the polls this Sunday; five states and the DF elect president and governor. Of this total, more than 136 million are forced to vote and just over 22 million can vote if they wish.

In this last group, there are, for example, young people aged 16 and 17 and people over 70 years old. This Saturday (24), the Electoral Court checked the systems that will receive and total votes from across the country. The test of the ballot boxes ends with the issuance of the so-called zerésima, the report that proves that the ballot box did not previously record any votes for president and vice president.

More than 500,000 polling stations across Brazil are ready to receive voters this Sunday (25). At voting locations, sections were organized to guarantee accessibility and vote secrecy. Voters can vote from 8am to 5pm, Brasília time. To vote, an official document with photo is required.

Minister Kassio Nunes Marques also stated that it is everyone's duty to guarantee the secrecy of the vote, and also recalled that those who did not vote in the 1st round will be able to vote in the 2nd. The president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), minister Kassio Nunes Marques, reconsidered part of a decision and authorized this Saturday night the use of the fleet of federal agencies to transport indigenous people in the 2nd round of the elections.

On Thursday (22), the Federal Court of Pará ordered the Union to adopt measures to guarantee free transportation for indigenous people and residents of traditional communities to the voting locations. The decision was also extended to quilombola communities and provides for the use of vehicles and vessels from public bodies, in addition to financial and logistical support to make travel viable.

For the first time since August 5, the government's approval rating in the Quaest survey once again exceeded disapproval. On the eve of the vote that will define the next president of the Republic, supporters of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) took to the streets in capitals and cities around Brazil, this Saturday (24). The biggest demonstrations took place in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.

Datafolha research released this Saturday (24), on the eve of the second round, shows that 45% of voters interviewed reject Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) as a voting option, and 46% reject Lula (PT).