On October 4th, 150 million Brazilians will go to the polls to choose six candidates for the Executive and Legislative branches at state and national level. An eventual second round could take place on the 25th of the same month.
To compete, candidates must follow the rules and deadlines of the Ineligibility Law. One of the points is about electoral incompatibility, when a candidate is forced to step away from public office in order to contest elections.
The objective of disincompatibility is to prevent the abuse of political or economic power in elections through the use of public administration resources, ensuring parity between candidates.
The deadlines for leaving public office vary depending on the position sought and the position held by the candidate before the elections. Anyone who does not meet the deadlines is ineligible. Check it out:
To run for president and vice president of the Republic:
The legislation establishes a deadline for six months of incompatibility for authorities who occupy some public positions and wish to run for president or vice president. Check it out:
- ministers of state;
- heads of direct advisory bodies to the Presidency of the Republic;
- chief of staff of the Armed Forces;
- attorney general of the Union and the general advisor of the Republic;
- magistrates;
- governors;
- secretaries of state;
- mayors;
- Federal interveners
- members of the Court of Auditors;
- members of the Public Ministry;
- general secretaries, executive secretaries, national secretaries, federal secretaries of ministries and people holding equivalent positions;
- and position or function appointed by the President of the Republic, subject to prior approval by the Federal Senate.
Candidates with positions linked to public security must also leave their positions six months before the election. See below:
- chief of staff of the Armed Forces;
- chiefs of staff of the Navy, Army and Air Force;
- commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force;
- and general director of the Federal Police Department.
The same six-month period applies to directors of some companies, check out which ones below:
- presidents, directors and superintendents of local authorities, public companies, mixed capital companies and public foundations and those maintained by the public authorities;
- management position in companies that can influence the national economy;
- controllers of companies with monopolistic conditions, who must prove the removal or transfer of corporate control to the Electoral Court;
- president of companies with exclusive objectives of financial operations and publicly calling for savings and credit;
- and legal entities or companies that have a contract for the execution of works, the provision of services or the supply of goods with a Public Authority body.
Candidates who occupy management positions in entities maintained by contributions imposed by the public authorities or with resources collected and transferred by Social Security need to leave the role. four months before the elections.
Public servants in general, from the Union, states and municipalities, need to step aside three months before the election.
To run for governor and lieutenant governor:
The rules for presidential candidates continue to apply to those running for state governments. Some positions are added to the list and candidates need to leave their positions six months before the election, see below:
- heads of the civil and military offices of the governor of the state or Federal District;
- commanders of the Naval District, Military Region and Air Zone;
- directors of state bodies or municipal assistance societies;
- and secretaries of the municipal administration or members of similar bodies.
Members of the Public Ministry and Public Defender’s Office and police, civil or military authorities working in the municipality must leave their positions. four months before the elections.
To run for Senate:
The same rules and deadlines applied to candidates for the Presidency and state governments apply to those who wish to run for the Federal Senate, according to the position held and the area of activity.
To apply for the Chamber:
For the Chamber of Deputies, state legislative assemblies and the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District, the law repeats the same requirements and deadlines provided for the Senate, under the same established conditions, observing the same deadlines.
