Chamber:
	Senado Federal
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	6 October 2002
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for two-thirds (54) of the 81 seats in the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	On 6 October 2002, Brazilians went to the polls to elect a new President together with all the 513 members of the House of Deputies, two-thirds of the 81 members of the Senate and the state governors. This was the first time that the some 115 million registered voters across the country could use a computerised voting system in a presidential election, allowing at least 70 per cent of the vote to be counted four hours after the ballots close and the final results to be released the following day. The elections were held against a background of great economic uncertainty and above all in financial markets as many investors had pulled out of Brazil pushing the country's currency, the real, to its worst lows against the dollar; in October 2002, it was worth 37 per cent less than at the beginning of the year. Another major campaign issue was violence, a topic which took on renewed importance after authorities in Rio de Janeiro warned that criminal gangs had threatened to disrupt the voting. Federal troops were sent to the city in an effort to ensure a safe vote at the request of the electoral commission. The presidential candidate leading the opinion polls was Mr Luis Inacio da Silva, also known as "Lula", the leader of the leftist Workers Party. The former metalworker had made unemployment his top campaign issue and promised to revive the economy. About a quarter of Brazil's population live below the poverty line and the country has the world's fourth worst income distribution. The government candidate, Mr Jose Serra, the former health minister who for the last eight years had been a loyal member of outgoing President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's governments, had to run on a slogan of promising change and a more active government, which was interpreted as a recognition of voters' dissatisfaction at Brazil's economic stagnation. As health minister he directed Brazil's anti-Aids policy, which provides free treatment using patent-breaking generic medicines produced in the country. While campaign posters promoted him as "The Name of Change," in practice he was likely to continue the broad thrust of the outgoing President's policy, promoting gradual market and political reforms. However, if elected, he would not enjoy the support in Congress of conservative parties who helped President Cardoso win the last two presidential elections, as the ruling alliance had suffered an acrimonious split since then. In the presidential elections, none of the candidates won an outright majority. Mr Lula da Silva, who topped the poll, and Mr Serra therefore faced a second round on 27 October 2002. The left and centre-left candidates performed well in the elections for Congress and state governorships. In Congress, no party managed to secure a majority. The Liberal Front Party (PFL) won 98 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 14 of the 54 at stake in the Senate. The Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) won 94 and 8, respectively while the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) won 87 and 9, respectively. The Workers' Party (PT) won 58 and 10, respectively. Mr Luis Inacio da Silva won the second round of the presidential elections with 60 per cent of the votes. He was sworn in as the new President of the country on 1 January 2003.

STATISTICS

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Seats 2002
Liberal Front Party (PFL)	19	14
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB)	19	9
Workers' Party (PT)	14	10
Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB)	11	8
Democratic Labour Party (PDT)	5	4
Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB)	4	3
Liberal Party (PL)	2	3
Brazilian Labour Party (PTB)	3	2
Popular Socialist Party (PPS)	1	1
Democratic Socialist Party (PSD)	1	1
Brazilian Progressive Party (PPB)	1	0

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	71
Women:	10
Percent of women:	12.35