Many Portuguese, between security guards and police officers, watch the vote for the first round of Brazilian presidential elections in Lisbon, but there are among them Brazilians who help to fulfill the vote in their country, despite immigrants in Portugal for years.
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04/10/2026
by
Lusa
“ ANDi was here a long time ago, but I helped check the electronic ballot boxes,” Lusa told Lisbon Law School Paulo Ilharco, one of the computer technicians who follows the vote.
A few meters away, Ana, an employee of the security company highlighted to guide Brazilian voters fulfills a dream she brought from Rio de Janeiro, where she came from ten years ago.
“ I'm helping the election process. It is exciting for me”, says security, shortly after warning a countryman that the exit point of the voting place was somewhere else.
Today, in Lisbon, the 79,000 voters are divided by tables in the Law Schools, Letters and the Rectory of the University of Lisbon, in a large operation, which involved the placement of security bays, surveillance teams and logistical support.
Among the main concerns is the inviolability of electronic voting machines, an electronic keyboard where each voter, after registered by the section, inserts the digits corresponding to his candidate.
“ The process of electronic voting machines has several security factors, but the main thing is that, during the voting process, it is not connected to the internet and is completely offline,” Paul explained, stressing that the system is “almost like a protected pen drive, where you can only add information and can only withdraw through a ‘print’, ending with the result of the machine’s elections.
“ We check the machines of the Superior Electoral Court, when they arrive in Lisbon and check the state of each urn ", explained Paulo Ilharco.
In Lisbon, there are 103 electronic urns and “everything has been working well”.
“ In some cases, there were ‘little problems’ with the hours recorded in some devices, which have to be those of Lisbon, but they were resolved and everything is perfect,” he explained.
“At the beginning of the session, the table posts the ‘zeroth’, a printed document similar to an invoice that is placed outside each room and that indicates that “it had no votes already loaded”. Then, “at the end of the day, just print out the final result”.
Brazil is the largest democracy in the world that has used electronic ballot boxes since 1996, a process that has accelerated the final count and prevented the filling of votes or the addictive results.
“ I haven't voted yet, but I'm going to ask for some time to vote. It is my obligation ", highlighted the Brazilian security.
However, the obligation has not always been fulfilled. “I’ve lived here for many years, but this is the first time I’m going to vote, maybe it’s because I’m working here,” he acknowledged.
Tradition points to a 50% abstention in the Brazilian presidential elections in Portugal, but this time the embassy expects a reduction due to the increase in the number of voting places.
More than 158 million Brazilians are now called to the polls for the general elections of the country, in which we also seek to elect the next President, in a highly polarized scrutiny between Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro.
The elections, whose vote is mandatory in Brazil, intend to elect governors, senators and federal, state and district deputies, as well as the next head of state.
The President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, seeks re-election at the age of 80 and his fourth term, while Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, tries to return power to the Bolsonarian field, four years after the father's defeat against the same opponent who now tries to defeat, despite the polls pointing to a technical draw.
In Portugal there are more than 134,000 Brazilians who must vote in today's presidential elections, at the voting tables available in the country, which will be open from 08:00 to 17:00.
According to Brazilian legislation, voting is mandatory for all literate citizens, aged 18 to 70, even if they are emigrated, and they will only help to elect the President and Vice President of the Republic. The vote for governors, deputies and senators is restricted to citizens living in the country.
In Lisbon are registered about 79,000 voters, in Porto there are more than 47,000 and in Faro almost 9,000.
Lisbon is the largest voting point for Brazilians abroad and Portugal is the second largest electoral college abroad, behind the United States of America.