Brazil suspends electoral polls amid Bolsonaro family dispute and candidate omission

The Maranhão Regional Electoral Court (TRE‑MA) ordered an immediate halt to the publication of poll MA‑00550/2026, which surveyed the 2026 gubernatorial race. Judge Sebastião Joaquim Lima Bonfim ruled that the survey excluded the pre‑candidate Saulo Arcangeli of the PSTU, a breach that could distort voter perception. The court barred any dissemination of the poll’s results and imposed a fine of up to R$ 10,000 per day for non‑compliance.

Separately, the polling firm AtlasIntel suspended a planned national poll that would have measured the political impact of the public feud between Michelle Bolsonaro and her brother‑in‑law Flávio Bolsonaro, as well as allegations involving Senator Jaques Wagner. The institute postponed the release from 30 June to 1 July and revised the questionnaire to include questions about the viral video of the family argument and the Bank Master investigation. The new poll aims to gauge how the controversy influences voter attitudes toward the Bolsonaro family and related scandals.