World
BRASIL Brazil runoff count started later after voting hours were extended
The release of second-round results depended on the nationwide closing of polling stations. Brazilian outlets reported that the extension of voting hours pushed the start of the count to 7 p.m. Brasília time.
The vote count for Brazil’s election runoff began only after polling ended across the country. While the background material from O Globo and g1 said the tally would start at 5 p.m., both outlets also reported on Sunday that voting hours were extended until 7 p.m. Brasília time by Supreme Federal Court Justice Cristiano Zanin.
According to O Globo, the Superior Electoral Court began releasing the first results from that revised time. The newspaper said there is no fixed hour for the final outcome, since it depends on how fast ballots are processed and on the gap between the candidates.
g1 reported that voting nationwide follows Brasília time, even in states with different local time zones. The outlet said polls opened at 8 a.m. Brasília time and that election workers started setting up polling stations and preparing electronic voting machines from 7 a.m.
Both O Globo and g1 said voters who were already in line at closing time would still be allowed to cast their ballots after receiving a token from poll workers.
O Globo also reported that TSE chief Kassio Nunes Marques estimated the result could be known by around 9 p.m. As a reference point, the paper recalled that in 2022 the court declared Lula the winner at 8:09 p.m. on election night.
Beyond the presidential runoff between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, governors were also being chosen in five states and in the Federal District, according to O Globo.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
