Organization of American States Electoral Observation Mission General Elections Brazil
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ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES ELECTORAL OBSERVATION MISSION GENERAL ELECTIONS BRAZIL October 7, 2018 (General Elections) October 28, 2018 (Second Round) FINAL REPORT - 2 - TABLE OF CONTENTS I. FINAL REPORT TO THE PERMANENT COUNCIL ........................................................................3 1. BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................3 2. GENERAL ELECTIONS (October 7, 2018) ....................................................................................4 2.1 Preliminary visit ......................................................................................................................4 2.2 Pre-electoral stage..................................................................................................................5 2.3 Election day ...........................................................................................................................8 2.4 Post-electoral phase ...............................................................................................................9 3. SECOND ROUND (October 28, 2018) ...................................................................................... 12 3.1 Pre-electoral phase ............................................................................................................... 12 3.2 Election day ......................................................................................................................... 14 3.3 Post-electoral phase ............................................................................................................. 14 4. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY TOPIC ............................................................. 15 4.1 Structure of the electoral justice system ................................................................................ 15 4.2 Candidate registration .......................................................................................................... 15 4.3 Disinformation ..................................................................................................................... 16 4.4 Freedom of expression and freedom of the press ................................................................... 17 4.5 Electoral roll ......................................................................................................................... 17 4.6 Electoral technology ............................................................................................................. 18 4.7 Political financing ................................................................................................................. 19 4.8 Political participation of women ............................................................................................ 20 4.9 Political participation of indigenous and Afro-descendent populations .................................... 21 4.10 Voting abroad ...................................................................................................................... 21 4.11 National electoral observation .............................................................................................. 21 5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... 22 II. ANNEXES (AVAILABLE IN PORTUGUESE) .…………………………………..………………………………………..23 A ELECTORAL ORGANIZATION .................................................................................................. 23 B ELECTORAL TECHNOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 39 C ELECTORAL JUSTICE .............................................................................................................. 57 D POLITICAL ELECTORAL FINANCING ......................................................................................... 71 E ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ..................................................... 85 F POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN .................................................................................. 94 G POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF INDIGENOUS AND AFRO-DESCENDENT POPULATIONS ............. 101 III. MEMBERS OF THE MISSION ................................................................................................ 107 - 3 - 1 I. FINAL REPORT TO THE PERMANENT COUNCIL 1. BACKGROUND On September 19, 2017, the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) received an official invitation from the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil to deploy an electoral observation mission (EOM) for the general elections on October 7, 2018, and if applicable, the second round on October 28, 2018. On September 21, 2017, Secretary General Luis Almagro accepted the invitation and instructed the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO) of the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy (SSD) to begin the necessary preparations and conduct the search for external resources to finance the mission. , On this occasion, the Secretary General appointed the former President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, to serve as Chief of Mission. On December 11, 2017, the Minister President of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Gilmar Mendes,2 and the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, signed, in Washington, D.C., the agreement on the electoral observation process for the 2018 general elections. On August 23, 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aloysio Nunes, and the Chief of Mission, Laura Chinchilla, signed, in Brasilia, the agreement making it possible for the Mission to carry out its work independently. The Organization of American States, in its efforts to support the member states in their desire to strengthen their democratic institutions, deployed the first ever electoral observation mission in Brazil. This mission represented a historic opportunity to further the work of the OAS in one of the largest democracies on the continent. All told, 147,306,275 Brazilians were eligible to vote in these elections; of which 500,727 were registered abroad. These voters elected the President and Vice President of the Republic, twenty- seven (27) governors and vice governors of all of the states of the federation and the Federal District, five hundred thirteen (513) federal deputies, fifty-four (54) senators,3 and one thousand fifty-nine (1,059) deputies in the states and the Federal District. Thirteen presidential candidates competed in the elections: Jair Bolsonaro 4 (PSL), Fernando Haddad 5 (PT), Ciro Gomes 6 (PDT), Marina Silva 7 (REDE), Geraldo Alckmin 8 (PSDB), Henrique 1. A summary of this report was read by the Chief of Mission, Laura Chinchilla, to the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, at the meeting held on March 6, 2019. 2. Gilmar Mendes, Minister President of the Superior Electoral Tribunal for the period lasting from May 12, 2016 to February 6, 2018. 3. Pursuant to Article 46 Section 2 of the Federal Constitution of Brazil, in the 2018 elections, 54 of 81 senators were elected (2/3 of the Senate of the Republic). 4. Coalition: “Brasil acima de tudo, Deus acima de todo [Brazil above everything, God above everyone]” made up of the Partido Social Liberal [Social Liberal Party] (PSL) and the Partido Renovador Trabalhista Brasileiro [Brazilian Labour Renewal Party] (PRTB). 5. Coalition: “O povo feliz de novo [The people happy again],” made up of the Partido dos Trabalhadores [Workers’ Party] (PT), Partido Comunista do Brasil [Communist Party of Brazil] (PcdoB), and the Partido Republicano da Ordem Social [Republican Party of the Social Order] (PROS). 6. Coalition: “Brasil soberano [Sovereign Brazil],” made up of the Partido Democrático Trabalhista [Democratic Labour Party] (PDT) and Avante [Forward]. 7. Coalition: “Unidos para Transformar o Brasil [United to Change Brazil],” made up of Rede Sustentabilidade [Sustainability Network] (REDE) and the Partido Verde [Green Party] (PV). 8. Coalition: “Para unir o Brasil [To Unite Brazil],” made up of the Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira [Brazilian Social Democracy Party] (PSDB), Democratas [Democrats] (DEM), Partido Progressista [Progressive Party] (PP), Partido Popular Socialista [Socialist People’s Party] (PPS), Partido da República [Party of the Republic] (PR), Partido Republicano Brasileiro [Brazilian Republican Party] (PRB), Partido Social Democrático [Social Democratic Party] (PSD), Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro [Brazilian Labour Party] (PTB), and Solidaridade [Solidarity] (SD). - 4 - Meirelles9 (MDB), Álvaro Dias10 (PODE), Ghilherme Boulos11 (PSOL), João Amoêdo12 (NOVO), Cabo Daciolo13 (PATRI), Vera Lúcia14 (PSTU), José Maria Eymael15 (DC), and João Goulart Filho16 (PPL). In the first round of elections on October 7, no single candidate for President or Vice President of the Republic obtained an absolute majority of the valid votes. Consequently, the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) ordered that a second round be held between the two most-voted candidates on October 28, 2018.17 The second presidential round was thus a runoff between Jair Bolsonaro of the “Brasil acima de Tudo, Deus acima de Todos [Brazil above everything, God above everyone]” coalition, which had obtained 46.03% of the votes in the first round, and the candidate Fernando Haddad of the “O Povo Feliz de Novo [The People Happy Again]” coalition, which had obtained 29.28%. The OAS employed 83 experts