Right-wing parties in Brazil achieved their strongest electoral performance in over four decades on Sunday, gaining a majority in the Senate as the country’s electoral authorities continue to finalize the results for the Lower House.
On Sunday, more than 125 million voters turned out for the 2026 general elections, which accounted for nearly 79 percent of Brazil’s total electorate of 158.7 million. The first round of the presidential election saw conservative Senator Flavio Bolsonaro from the Liberal Party (PL) emerge victorious. However, he fell short of the required 50-percent majority, resulting in a runoff election set for October 25 against his nearest rival, incumbent socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In addition to the presidential vote, Brazilians also elected regional governors, members of the Chamber of Deputies, and two-thirds of the 81 Senate seats. This election marked the PL’s best legislative outcomes ever, positioning it as the dominant party in both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies when the newly elected members take office in February 2027.
Bolsonaro’s and the PL’s overall performance is now being described as the most significant achievement for right-wing parties in Brazil since the nation restored democracy over 40 years ago in 1985.
According to Jovem Pan, the PL secured a third of the Senate’s 81 seats, increasing its presence from 15 to 28 seats. Starting in February, the PL and other right-wing factions will hold 49 of the 81 Senate seats, with the left having 27 seats and five identified as centrists.
This effectively means right-wing parties will constitute three-fifths of the Senate in the next legislative term. The ruling Workers’ Party (PT), led by President Lula, retained nine seats, still placing second in terms of representation.
Poder 360 noted that a majority of 41 votes is needed to pass legislation in the Senate, while constitutional amendments require 49 votes and impeachment proceedings necessitate a two-thirds majority.
In the lower house, the PL reportedly secured 121 out of 513 available seats. A coalition of leftist parties, including the PT, the Communist Party of Brazil, and the Brazilian Green Party, collectively obtained 88 seats. The final results from the Chamber of Deputies are yet to be officially published by the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), as these are determined based on electoral quotas set by local laws.
Nonetheless, these results mean that the Bolsonaro-led PL not only continues to have the most lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies but has also established the largest parliamentary group for any party since Brazil’s constitutional reform in 1988, surpassing the previous record of 108 seats held by the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) in the 1990 elections.
Globonews observed that the two candidates who garnered the most votes on Sunday were Nikolas Ferreira from Minas Gerais, with over 3.1 million votes, and Lucas Pavanato from São Paulo, who received just over 3 million. Both are conservative members of the PL. Notably, Ferreira, a 30-year lawmaker, was censured by the TSE last week after releasing a video critiquing President Lula’s comment regarding young girls being “touched.”
The gubernatorial races on Sunday resulted in 20 out of 27 states deciding on their governors in the first round, with 13 of those cemented by right-wing parties. Reflecting the trends in Congress, the PL achieved the highest number of first-round gubernatorial wins, totaling five. Among those elected was Senator Sergio Moro, a former federal judge known for leading the “Operation Car Wash” anti-corruption investigation that resulted in Lula’s conviction, who won the governorship of Paraná on Sunday.
The PT secured three victories in the first round of gubernatorial elections. The remaining seven races will proceed to runoff elections alongside the upcoming presidential runoff between Bolsonaro and Lula on October 25.
