In seven months’ time, Brazil’s 5,570 municipalities will head to the polls to elect new mayors and members of city councils. Coming two years before the next presidential election in 2022, this will be the first true test of President Jair Bolsonaro’s clout with voters since he was elected in 2018. Furthermore, these midterm elections are crucial for politicians around the country, as they seek alliances and support bases to leave them in good standing for 2022.
2020 elections: dates for your diary
The official electoral timetable begins today, with the opening of the so-called “party window,” in which candidates have one month to freely transfer to another political party without reprisal. The window closes on April 4, which is also the cut-off point for any new parties to register in time to dispute the election.
Political party conventions will be held between July 20 and August 5, and all candidates must be registered by August 14. Campaign advertising may begin on August 16, and the first round of voting is scheduled for October 4. If a run-off is required to choose between the two best-voted mayoral candidates in a given city, this will be held on October 25.
No party? No problem!
Coming at the half-way point of Jair Bolsonaro’s first term as president, these municipal races will be seen by the government as a way of putting their popularity to the test—but not in the traditional sense. Usually, the government’s performance in municipal votes is measured by the number of mayors the president’s party is able to elect. This time around, however, Jair Bolsonaro doesn’t even belong to a licensed political party.
After months of rifts and fallouts, Jair Bolsonaro abandoned the Social Liberal Party in November to...
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