The number of municipalities where there is only one candidate running for mayor doubled in this year’s election. Out of 108 cities with single candidates in 2020, Brazil will have 214 municipalities with only one candidate this year. In other words, just one vote is enough to elect a mayor.
This is the highest number of unique candidacies in the last seven elections, when this historical series began in the year 2000. This data was systematized by the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM).
According to the president of CNM, Paulo Ziulkoski, the most likely hypothesis is that the challenges of running for office in small cities discourage people from running for mayor.
“I am not just talking about the lack of financial resources and technical support. The difficulties include bureaucratic issues and legal obstacles, which make public life very difficult at the front line,” he highlighted.
The average population of cities with a single candidate is 6.7 thousand inhabitants. Rio Grande do Sul (43), Goiás (20) and Mato Grosso (9) are the states with the highest number of single candidates.
Also according to the CNM, the total number of candidacies in this election fell by 20%, from 19.3 thousand in 2020 to 15.4 thousand in 2024.
Two applications
The number of municipalities with up to two candidates running for mayor has increased in this election. In 2020, this number accounted for 38% of the country’s more than 5,500 municipalities. Now, 53% of Brazilian municipalities have up to two candidates running for mayor, according to a survey by the Institute of Socioeconomic Studies (INESC).
The Inesc study also highlighted that around 1.6 million Brazilians will not have the right to choose a mayor because they live in cities with only one candidate. “This represents around 0.8% of the Brazilian population,” it said. Meanwhile, another 35.7 million will have to choose between only two candidates.
Inesc political advisor Carmela Zigoni assessed that the number of more than half of the municipalities with up to two candidates represents few options for voters. “Low representation is also harmful, as it can reinforce already established power dynamics, compromising the diversity of ideas and new political proposals for improving cities,” she considered.
Regarding single candidates, the profile of male candidates (88%), white candidates (74%) and candidates from right-wing parties (57%) prevails. Inesc’s assessment, the polarization between left and right, which is more evident at the state and federal levels, is not manifested with the same intensity in municipal disputes.
The CNM points out that 47% of the single candidates declare their occupation as “mayor” and 11% as “businessman”. In third place is the occupation “farmer” with 7% of the total single candidates. Meanwhile, MDB (24%), PSD (16%), PP (13%) and União (11%) dominate the single candidacies. On the other hand, PT concentrates 5% of the single candidacies and PL 7%, also according to the CNM.
