Keys, data and duels of elections that will mark the future of Brazil

MADRID, 27 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Brazilians are called this Sunday to the polls to determine the political framework of the South American giant for the next few years. The duel between the current president, Jair Bolsonaro, and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva marks a day that also leaves other data:

More than 150 million people have the right to vote in these elections. Voting is mandatory in Brazil for all literate citizens of legal age and with full legal capacity, being optional for people between 16 and 18 years old and for those over 70.

In the first round of the 2018 elections, the turnout rate approached 80 percent. Citizens who do not participate and cannot justify their absence risk paying a fine.

Brazilians will have to elect the 513 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 27 of the 81 seats that make up the Senate. In addition, the control of the 27 territories that make up Brazil is at stake, both at the level of legislative bodies and governors.

However, much of the focus is on the presidential elections, in which Bolsonaro aspires to prolong a stage that began in 2019. His main rival, Lula, appears as the favorite in the polls and already has experience in the Planalto Palace ( 2003-2010).

The list of candidates is completed by nine other candidates, among which former Minister Ciro Gomes and Senator Simone Tebet stand out, although none of them has managed to consolidate a third way, at least with the forecasts of the polls on the table.

Elections always take place on the first Sunday of October and, if a second round is necessary, it will take place on the last Sunday of the month -- the 30th in the case of the current process.

This double-round system is contemplated only for the elections for governor and president and forces a choice between the two candidates with the most votes in the event that no candidate obtains half plus one of the valid votes in the first round.

Brazil has an electronic ballot box system that speeds up the count and that will predictably allow the winner of this Sunday's presidential elections to be known in a matter of hours. However, his investiture will still be delayed for almost three months, since traditionally the transfer of powers takes place in Brazil on January 1.

The parliamentary renewal will take place at the end of that same month, since the current legislature in the Chamber of Deputies ends on January 31, 2023.