Electoral court to take measures to avoid lines in second round
The head of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) Minister Alexandre de Moraes said all necessary measures are being taken to prevent voters from queuing up for the second round of elections, to be held on October 30.
On Sunday (Oct. 2), voters at several polling stations across the country complained of long lines to cast their ballots. The lines have also been registered by the mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) that observed the voting process in Brazil.
During the opening of the first session of the Superior Electoral Court after the first round on Tuesday (Oct. 4), Moraes said the problems that caused the queues are being addressed with the Regional Electoral Courts (TREs).
Appeal
"The TSE is already planning and taking all necessary measures to avoid lines in the next round, so that voters can vote more comfortably," he said. He called on all Brazilian voters to participate in the second round.
"The partcipation of all voters is very important so that we can again demonstrate the maturity of Brazilian democracy, and complete this electoral cycle for the 2022 general elections," he added.
First round numbers
In his speech, Moraes also pointed out the increase in the number of black and female candidates elected to the House of Representatives. According to the minister, among the 513 federal representatives, 91 are women, which represents 17.7 percent of the total, and 27 of those elected declared themselves black (5.26%).
Among the 156 million voters eligible to vote, 123 million (80 percent) went to the polls last Sunday. The abstention rate stood at 20.95 percent, which is in line with the average registered in previous elections, the minister stated.
118 million valid votes, 3.4 million null votes (2.82% of the total), and 1.9 million blank votes (1.59%) have been recorded in this first round.
