MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil out to elect new Mayors, 13 of them in the state of São Paulo

Biometric registration of voters has been reinstated

Brazilian voters are to go out Sunday to choose 19 new Mayors in six states after the Electoral Court has banned those chosen in 2020 to take office, citing legal grounds.

 Sunday's outcome is believed to yield some concrete evidence on the country's current political atmosphere, particularly in São Paulo, where President Jair Bolsonaro has recently staged demonstrations supporting him.

An example as to why elections need to be held once again is that of Antônio José de Oliveira, from the leftwing Workers' Party (PT) of former President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, who had been voted to serve as mayor of Juazeiro do Piauí, but ended up having his candidacy rejected after it was found he was ineligible to run because he had been involved in illegal activities: he was in charge of a clandestine radio station.

Cities returning Sunday to the polls are: Firmino Alves (BA); Juazeiro do Piauí (PI); Goianésia do Pará (PA); Capoeiras and Palmeirina (PE); Paranhos (MS); Mendonça (SP), São Lourenço da Serra (SP), Mineiros do Tietê (SP), Guaíra (SP), Apiaí (SP), Campina do Monte Alegre (SP), Itaoca (SP), Piacatu (SP), Santo Antônio do Jardim (SP), Trabiju (SP), Anhembi (SP), Cajati (SP) and Angatuba (SP).

Of the 19 cases, 13 municipalities are in the most significant state of São Paulo.

Voters also need a photo ID. The e-document is valid as long as voters have completed their biometric registration. In municipalities where the mandatory biometric review was carried out in 2019, voters who did not register their fingerprints have had their registrations canceled and will not be able to vote, it was announced. The measure had been put on hold due to the covid-19 pandemic for the 2020 elections, but it was reinstated this year.

Voting hours will span from 7 am to 5pm, in order to allow for proper social distancing as a sanitary measure against the spread of the coronavirus, particularly its newer, more contagious strains.

Between 7 am and 10 am, voters over 60 years of age were to be prioritized.