IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Brazil

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Parliamentary
October 2014
Presidential
October 2014

Brazil
Federative Republic of Brazil
Region: Americas

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Dilma Vana ROUSSEFF *
Head of Government: President Dilma Vana ROUSSEFF
Assembly: Brazil has a bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consisting of the Federal Senate (Senado Federal) with 81 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados) with 513 seats.

* The president is both the chief of state and head of government.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 4-year term.
In the Federal Senate (Senado Federal) 81 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 8-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados) 513 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.**

* There are 27 multi-member (3 seats) constituencies corresponding to the country's 26 states and the Federal District. One-third of the senators (27 seats) are elected after a four-year period, and two-thirds (54 seats) are elected after the next four-year period. When two-thirds of the seats are to be renewed, each elector votes for two candidates. When one-third is to be renewed, each elector votes for one candidate.