Celina Leão and Leandro Grass to face second round in DF election

Celina Leão (PP) and Leandro Grass (PT) will face each other in the second round of the Distrito Federal gubernatorial election. Leão narrowly missed a first-round victory, securing 49.93% of valid votes, just 0.07 percentage points shy of the required majority. This narrow margin was influenced by approximately 26,000 voters who mistakenly entered the number 22 (belonging to the PL party) instead of Leão's number, 11, resulting in those votes being annulled.

Leandro Grass secured 34.47% of the votes. In response to the results, Grass highlighted the economic disparity between the campaigns, noting that Leão's campaign costs were nearly triple his own. Meanwhile, the PT party has expressed concern over its performance in the capital, as the party failed to elect any senators despite Grass advancing to the runoff.

The candidates present diverging platforms for the second round. Leão proposes the ‘Expresso da Saúde’ to reduce wait times through telemedicine and AI, alongside the construction of new UPAs and hospital completions. Grass focuses on a ‘Health Without Waiting’ initiative, proposing permanent task forces for exams and surgeries using idle capacity from public and private networks, as well as a goal to provide specialist consultations within 30 days.