Brazil Sends 25,000 Troops for Sunday Runoff
BRAZIL · ELECTIONS
Key Facts
- —What is happening About 25,000 Army, Navy and Air Force personnel will support Brazil’s electoral courts in the presidential runoff on Sunday, 25 October, between President Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro.
- —Why it matters Troops will guard voting and counting in 306 municipalities across 11 states, a security operation around a runoff in Latin America’s largest country that US investors and officials follow closely.
- —The numbers The first round on 4 October used 26,500 personnel in 482 municipalities in 12 states, so the runoff operation is about 1,500 people and 176 municipalities smaller.
- —Who is who The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) runs the vote and its regional courts request troops, the Defence Ministry coordinates the forces, and Lula, himself a candidate, signed the decree authorising their use, dated 20 July.
- —What to watch Polls open at 8 a.m. Brasília time on Sunday (7 a.m. ET) and close at 5 p.m. (4 p.m. ET), when the electoral court starts releasing official results.
- —Power Index Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 75.0 points (October 2026 edition).
- —Prediction markets Polymarket gives Flávio Bolsonaro an 83% chance and Lula 17.5% (24 October, 1:01 p.m. ET). Polymarket puts Flávio Bolsonaro’s chance of winning at 84% and Kalshi at 84% (Lula: 17% and 16%), as of 24 October, 1:40 pm ET; prices are bets, not polls.
- —What it means for you US investors, travellers and Brazilians voting abroad should expect a runoff held under visible security, with the first official results from 4 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Runoff · Sunday, 25 October
Brazil Runoff 2026: Lula vs Flávio
Date, polls, debates, odds and how the runoff works, updated every day.
Read our Brazil election 2026 runoff guide →
Brazil election 2026 · Brazil election polls · Who will win: Brazil election odds · Brazil runoff date and results start · Brazil election results · Brazil election poll data (CSV) · All election stories
Brazil will deploy about 25,000 troops to protect the runoff vote on Sunday, 25 October. The operation is slightly smaller than the 26,500 used in the first round.
Brazil will put about 25,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen in support of its runoff on Sunday, 25 October, the Defence Ministry says. They will back the electoral courts in the Brazil election 2026 final between President Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro.
The Brazil runoff troops will guard voting and counting in 306 municipalities in 11 states. For the Brazil runoff date, polls run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Brasília time, or 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
What the Defence Ministry Announced
The ministry published the plan on Thursday, 22 October, and updated it on Friday, 23 October. It says about 25,000 members of the Navy, Army and Air Force will support the Electoral Justice.
Guarantee of Voting and Counting, known as GVA, covers 306 municipalities in 11 states. Logistical support reaches 39 more municipalities in eight states, mostly in hard-to-reach areas.
The GVA states are Acre, Alagoas, Amazonas, Ceará, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte and Tocantins. Piauí has the most municipalities at 81, followed by Ceará with 46 and Pará with 38.
The ministry says the aim is “preservation of public order, the normality of electoral work and the free exercise of the vote”. Agência Brasil, the state news agency, carried the same figures on Friday.
How the Deployment Works
Troops deploy at the request of the electoral courts and with presidential authorisation, the ministry says. Regional electoral courts then coordinate with the military commands on the details for their areas, the ministry says.
Decree 13,073, signed by Lula and dated Monday, 20 July, authorises armed forces support for the 2026 elections. The Official Gazette copy says 20 July, while the ministry text says 21 July and Itatiaia reports publication that day.
Part of the work is transport. Soldiers will carry voting machines, equipment and election teams by aircraft, helicopter, boat and military vehicle to rural, riverside and Indigenous communities.
Six joint commands run the operation, named Amazônia, Amazônia Oriental, Nordeste, Planalto, Oeste and Leste. The Aerospace Operations Command supplies the aircraft, and a joint operations centre in Brasília coordinates everything.
Smaller Than the First Round
SBT News quoted the TSE on 3 October saying 26,500 personnel would support the first round on Sunday, 4 October. The TSE put the deployment at 482 municipalities in 12 states and 8,827 voting locations.
The Brazil runoff troops number about 1,500 fewer than before, and they cover 176 fewer municipalities. Fifteen Rio de Janeiro municipalities stay on the list, as do 38 in Pará.
Rio’s electoral court asked for troops on Thursday, 15 October, for 15 municipalities, Tribuna do Sertão reported. Its president, Judge Claudio de Mello Tavares, cited armed factions and militias, as earlier reporting showed.
O Liberal reported on 20 October that Pará’s electoral court voted unanimously on 19 October to request troops for 501 voting places. It says 27 of them are in Indigenous territories.
What It Means for US Readers
US investors and ADR holders watching Brazil get a runoff held under visible security. The Brazil runoff troops guard the process, and they do not decide the Brazil election polls question of who wins.
Brazilians living in the United States also vote on Sunday, as the guide to the vote from the US explains. Americans travelling in Brazil may see soldiers near voting sites, mostly in the 11 GVA states.
Voting ends at 4 p.m. ET, and the electoral court begins releasing results then. The guide to Brazil’s key players explains the institutions behind the count.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, bettors gave Flávio Bolsonaro 83% and Lula 17.5% at 1:01 p.m. ET on Saturday, 24 October. About US$195 million has been traded on the market, and the Brazil election odds page tracks the prices.
Prediction markets · who wins the runoff
Implied chance of winning Brazil’s presidency on 25 October, from traders’ prices.
Polymarket
Flávio Bolsonaro 83.5% · Lula 16.5% (US$195 million traded)
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC)
Flávio Bolsonaro 84% · Lula 16%
As of 24 October, 1:40 pm ET (18:40 Lisbon), updated every 20 minutes. Prices are bets, not polls, and can move fast.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
The margin market put a Flávio win by less than 4 points at 38.5% and by 4 to 8 points at 36.5%. That market has seen about US$5.7 million in trades.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
The sources do not name the municipalities or give the number of troops for each state. The ministry says “about” 25,000, so the exact figure may change.
The TSE site could not be opened, so first-round figures rest on SBT News quoting the TSE. The ministry text dates the decree 21 July, while its link and the Official Gazette say 20 July.
It is not known when troops will stand down after the count. The ministry’s statement names no threat specific to Sunday’s vote.
What Comes Next
Brazilians vote on Sunday, 25 October, and the TSE starts releasing results from 5 p.m. Brasília time. Coverage continues on the Brazil page, and the ministry has not said how long the forces will stay.
The deployment does not mean the military runs the election. The electoral courts request the troops and run the vote, the ministry says.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many troops will Brazil deploy for the runoff?
About 25,000 Army, Navy and Air Force personnel, the Defence Ministry says. That compares with 26,500 in the first round on 4 October.
Where will the troops be?
Voting and counting guard covers 306 municipalities in 11 states, from Acre to Tocantins. Logistical support reaches 39 more municipalities in eight states.
Who ordered the deployment?
Electoral courts request the troops and the president authorises them, the ministry says. Decree 13,073, signed by Lula and dated 20 July, covers the 2026 elections.
What will the troops do?
They guard voting and counting in set areas and carry voting machines and election teams to remote places. The stated aim is public order and the free exercise of the vote.
When do polls open and close in Brazil?
Polls run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Brasília time on Sunday, 25 October. That is 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
Sources: Ministry of Defence, 22 and 23 October; Agência Brasil, 23 October; SBT News (quoting the TSE), 3 October; Decree 13,073, Official Gazette; Exame, 24 October; O Liberal, 20 October; Tribuna do Sertão, 15 October; Itatiaia, 21 July; Diário do Nordeste, voting hours; Polymarket market data (all accessed 24 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief