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News > Latin America

Brazil: Court Disqualifies 3.4 Million, Mostly Impoverished Voters

  • Jair Bolsonaro (L) and Fernando Hadad (R) are leading the presidential elections.

    Jair Bolsonaro (L) and Fernando Hadad (R) are leading the presidential elections. | Photo: Reuters

Published 27 September 2018
Opinion

Detractors claim the court is violating the universal political right to vote. 

At least 3.4 million Brazilians will be unable to vote in the upcoming Oct. 7 presidential elections after the country’s Supreme Federal Court voted Wednesday to disqualify all citizens who did not undergo a biometric registration process within the established timetable.

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The Brazilian Socialist Party, which is currently in opposition, filed a request to uphold the political rights of the 3.4 million people, who mostly live in marginalized communities and far away from urban centers. The party asked the court to rescind the decision to disqualify the voters, a request the court rejected.

The Workers’ Party lamented that most of the people, who will not be able to vote, are from the states of Bahia (710,000), Parana (700,000), Parana (280,000), Sao Paulo (375,000), and Mina Gerais (270,000). Almost half of the 3.4 million live in the impoverished northeast of Brazil, which tends to vote for left-wing parties.

Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro is currently leading the presidential polls with 27 percent of voter support. Fernando Haddad, who replaced jailed former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the Workers' Party ticket, is close behind with 21 percent. The two are expected to face off in a second-round runoff, which Haddad is likely to win according to polling firm Ibope.

Supporters of the Brazilian Socialist Party and the Workers’ Party have argued the court’s decision constitutes excessive punishment and that there is no legal basis for the decision that will violate the universality of the right to vote.

They have also argued the lack of registration reflects the state’s inability to reach these populations.

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