On October 6, more than 153 million voters from 5,569 Brazilian cities will go to the polls to choose their new mayors and city council members. While mayors are elected by the majority system, where the candidate with the most votes wins, the election for city council members follows the proportional model and depends on a somewhat complex calculation: the electoral and party quotient.
How does the proportional model work?
This system is based on specific calculations, such as the Electoral Quotient (EQ) and the Party Quotient (PQ), which determine how many seats each party or federation is entitled to and then which candidates will occupy those seats.
Unlike the majoritarian system, where elections are direct, the proportional system distributes seats in the Municipal Chambers among parties and party federations based on the total number of votes they receive. This means that, when voting, voters can choose a specific candidate by entering their five numbers in the ballot box, or choose to vote for the party by entering only the first two numbers of the party.
How are electoral and party quotients calculated?
To determine how many seats each party or federation will receive, it is first necessary to calculate the electoral quotient (EQ). The EQ is obtained by dividing the total number of valid votes by the number of seats available in the City Council. For example, if a city has 300,000 valid votes and 30 council seats, the EQ would be 10,000 votes.
With the EQ defined, the party quotient (QP) is calculated. The QP indicates how many seats each party or federation will be entitled to and is calculated by dividing the number of valid votes obtained by the party or federation by the EQ. Thus, if a party received 50,000 votes in a city where the EQ is 10,000, that party will be entitled to 5 seats.
Selection of elected candidates
After determining how many seats each party or federation will occupy, the candidates with the most votes within each group are elected to fill those seats. However, to be elected, a candidate must have received at least 10% of the QE in individual votes. Therefore, even if a party is entitled to multiple seats, its candidates must reach this minimum number of votes to be elected.
Distribution of remaining places
If a party or federation fails to fill all the seats it has won, or if there are remaining seats after the QP has been applied, these seats are redistributed among the parties and federations. This process is done by calculating the average number of votes for each party or federation, dividing the total number of valid votes by the QP plus 1. The seats are then allocated to the party or federation with the highest average, provided that it has achieved 80% of the QE and that its candidates have obtained at least 20% of the QE in votes.
In the event of a tie in the average, the seat will be awarded to the party or federation with the highest total number of votes. If the tie persists, the number of nominal votes of the candidates will be considered, and if there is still a tie, the seat will be awarded to the oldest candidate.
Number of seats in Municipal Chambers
The number of seats in the City Councils varies according to the population of each city, with a minimum of nine and a maximum of 55 councilors, as defined by the Federal Constitution. This system ensures that representation in the Council is proportional to the number of inhabitants of the locality.
The electoral and party quotient system is essential to guarantee representation in the municipal legislature, ensuring that seats are distributed according to the votes received by parties and federations. Understanding this process is essential to understanding how voters' votes are converted into seats, promoting fair and democratic representation in local political decisions.
