Starting this Saturday (21), candidates running in this year’s municipal elections cannot be detained or arrested, except in cases of flagrant crime.
According to the rule, candidates for the positions of mayor, deputy mayor and councilor are prohibited from detention during the 15 days preceding the first round of the election, which this year will be held on the first Sunday of October (6th). The rule is set out in paragraph 1 of article 236 of the Electoral Code (Law No. 4,737/1965).
The aim of the measure is to ensure a balance in the electoral dispute and prevent arrests from being used as a maneuver to harm the candidate through political embarrassment or by removing him from his electoral campaign.
If any arrest occurs during this period, the candidate must be brought immediately before the competent judge, who will verify the legality of the arrest. If there is no evidence of a crime being committed, the judge must release the candidate from custody.
In the case of voters, the period prohibiting arrest is five days before the election (October 1st), unless caught in the act.
Second round
Starting October 12, in municipalities where there is a second round, to be held on October 27, the last Sunday of the month, the candidate may not be arrested or detained. Again, the only exception is for arrests in flagrante delicto. The flagrante delicto occurs at the exact moment the agent is committing the crime or, after the crime has been committed, there is evidence that the person arrested is, in fact, the perpetrator of the crime.
The Federal Constitution and TSE Resolution No. 23,734/2024 determine that, only in cities with more than 200,000 voters eligible to vote, candidates may contest the second round, if none of them has been elected by an absolute majority (half plus one of the valid votes) in the first phase of the election.
With this condition of the electoral law, of the 5,569 municipalities that will participate in the 2024 elections, only 103 locations have the possibility of having a second stage of the election for the municipal mayor.
Elections 2024
In this year’s election, the positions of mayor, deputy mayor and city councilor are up for grabs in 5,569 municipalities. The TSE counts 5,569 vacancies for city halls, plus 5,569 vacancies for deputy mayors, in addition to 58,444 vacancies for city councilors in the municipal chambers, which represent the city’s legislative branch.
On October 6, more than 463,350 candidates will compete for positions as mayors, deputy mayors and councilors in 5,569 municipalities, according to data from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
Brazil has 155.9 million people eligible to vote in this year’s elections. Since these are municipal elections, voters abroad are not required to vote.
