Brazil General Election 2026 — First Round

What this countdown tracks

Brazil's 2026 general election, with first-round voting on Sunday 4 October 2026 and a runoff for offices that go to a second round on Sunday 25 October 2026. Brazilians elect the President and Vice-President, all 513 deputados in the Câmara dos Deputados, one third of the 81-seat Senate, every state governor and every estadual legislative assembly — the largest single ballot day in the Western Hemisphere outside US presidential years.

About this election

Presidential and congressional elections in Brazil run on a synchronised four-year cycle under the 1988 Constitution, with mandatory voting for citizens aged 18 to 70 and optional voting for 16- and 17-year-olds and over-70s. Voting is conducted exclusively on the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral's electronic urnas, a system that has been used nationwide since 2000 and remains the centrepiece of debate over election integrity in Brazilian politics.

The 2022 cycle returned Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the presidency by a narrow 50.9 to 49.1 percent margin over incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, the tightest result in the country's redemocratic era. The 8 January 2023 storming of the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília, the disqualification of Bolsonaro from running again until 2030 by the TSE in 2023, and the 2024 plea agreement and indictment over the alleged 2022 coup plot have framed almost every move toward 2026. Lula has repeatedly signalled a willingness to seek a fourth term — he previously served 2003–2010 — while the right is fragmenting between Bolsonaro family proxies, São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, Paraná Governor Ratinho Júnior, and federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira.

The 2026 ballot is also the first national vote held under the consolidated electoral reforms of Emenda Constitucional 111/2021, which tightened party performance thresholds and reshaped the proportional-list rules used for the Câmara.

What's on the ballot

The presidential first round on 4 October needs an absolute majority of valid votes for an outright win; otherwise the top two go to the 25 October runoff. The Senate vote refreshes 27 of 81 seats — one per state and the Federal District — under a single-member plurality system. The Câmara vote uses open-list proportional representation across 27 state-sized districts. Twenty-six states and the Federal District also elect a governor, with runoffs on 25 October for any state where no candidate clears 50 percent. The big policy fights to watch are the bolsa-família-era social programmes, fiscal-rule (arcabouço) compliance, Amazon and climate-finance posture in the wake of Brazil's COP30 hosting, and energy and tax reforms inherited from the Reforma Tributária of 2023.

Past results

• 2022: Lula (PT) defeated Bolsonaro (PL) 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent in the second round on 30 October.
• 2018: Bolsonaro won a runoff against Fernando Haddad (PT) 55.1 to 44.9 percent.
• 2014: Dilma Rousseff (PT) defeated Aécio Neves (PSDB) 51.6 to 48.4 percent — the closest pre-2022 finish.
• 2010: Dilma Rousseff (PT) defeated José Serra (PSDB) 56.1 to 43.9 percent in the second round.
• 2002: Lula (PT) defeated José Serra (PSDB) 61.3 to 38.7 percent for his first term.

How to follow

The Tribunal Superior Eleitoral publishes live tabulation at tse.jus.br and on the DivulgaCand and Resultados apps; counting in Brazil is famously fast and the presidential winner is typically projected within three hours of polls closing. Globo (Jornal Nacional and G1), Folha de S.Paulo, Estadão and CNN Brasil run the dominant Portuguese-language coverage. International viewers can follow Reuters, AP and AFP wires plus the BBC Brasil and Al Jazeera English live blogs. Polling stations open at 08:00 and close at 17:00 in each state's local time; Brasília time (UTC-3) governs the official TSE clock.

Related countdowns

The 2026 cycle in Latin America also includes the Mexican federal legislative vote and the Argentine general election in 2027 — track the US 2028 presidential election for the closest comparable national race and pair Brazil's ballot with the BRICS summit in New Delhi where Lula will press his foreign-policy agenda. European peers tracking similar incumbents-versus-right-wing dynamics are the French presidential election first round and Italian general election. For an Africa peer, follow the Kenya general election 2027 countdown.

FAQ

When is the Brazil 2026 election? First round Sunday 4 October 2026; runoff Sunday 25 October 2026. Where is the election held? Across all 27 Brazilian federal units; voting at consulates abroad on the same dates. Why does the Brazil 2026 election matter? It is the first national contest after the 2023 Brasília attacks and Bolsonaro's disqualification, and decides Lula's bid for a fourth term in Latin America's largest democracy. Is voting mandatory in Brazil? Yes for citizens 18 to 70; optional for 16- and 17-year-olds and citizens over 70.