[1][2] These were the first elections in which the recently registered parties Partido Pátria Livre (PPL) and Partido Social Democrático (PSD) participated; they were both recognized by the Superior Electoral Court (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral – TSE) in 2011.

The free electoral program (propaganda eleitoral gratuita) – two daily slots on free-to-air TV and radio for political advertising paid by the Electoral Justice fund – ran weekdays from 21 August until 4 October.

[4] According to the current Brazilian electoral law, the two-round system – should the leading candidate receive less than 50% +1 of the votes – is only available for cities with more than 200,000 voters.

[1] This includes all state capitals, with the exception of Boa Vista, Roraima and Palmas, Tocantins, plus 59 other municipalities.

These cities are home to 31 725 967 of the country's total constituency of 140 646 446 registered electors; that is, 22.56% of Brazilian voters went to the polling stations on October 28.