Brazil presidential candidates Renan Santos and Ronaldo Caiado decline second-round endorsements

Following the first round of the Brazilian presidential election, defeated candidates Renan Santos and Ronaldo Caiado have declined to offer formal endorsements for the upcoming second round between Flávio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Renan Santos, representing the Missão party, finished fourth with 2.67 million votes (2.24%). He criticized both Bolsonaro and Lula, stating, “I don't vote for a criminal, and I don't recommend anyone vote for a criminal. Flávio is a criminal, Lula is a criminal.” Santos also described the current electoral cycle as the “strangest since redemocratization” due to a lack of debates and high judicialization.

Ronaldo Caiado, of the PSD, finished fifth with 2.60 million votes (2.18%). The PSD has announced that it will allow its regional directories and members the freedom to decide their own alliances for the October 25 runoff.

The combined votes of Santos and Caiado total approximately 5.2 million, a figure that exceeds the margin between the two leading candidates, Flávio Bolsonaro (47.03%) and Lula (45.16%).