Brazil's Electoral Fund allocates R$4.9 bn to parties for 2026 elections

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) announced that R$ 4.9 billion from the Special Campaign Financing Fund will be distributed to political parties for the 2026 general elections. The allocation follows a formula set by the TSE: 2% of the total is divided equally among all registered parties, 35% is allocated proportionally to the votes each party received for the Chamber of Deputies in the last election, 48% is based on the number of federally elected deputies, and the remaining 15% reflects each party’s representation in the Senate.

Under this scheme, the Liberal Party (PL) will receive the largest share, about R$ 881.6 million, followed by the Workers' Party (PT) with R$ 615.3 million and União Brasil with R$ 526.2 million. Together these three parties account for roughly 40% of the total fund. The TSE requires parties to submit internal criteria for distributing the money among candidates, respecting gender and race quotas, and all expenses must be reported to the electoral court. Unused funds or any party that declines its share will have the amount returned to the National Treasury.

The sizable allocation, one of the largest ever for a Brazilian election cycle, has rekindled debate over the justification of public money for campaign financing, especially amid broader public spending needs and concerns about transparency and potential misuse.