1978 Brazilian parliamentary election

15 November 1978

Chamber of Deputies

422 seats in the Chamber of Deputies

Party Leader % Seats +/– Chamber of Deputies ARENA Ernesto Geisel 50.42 231 +28 MDB 49.58 191 +30 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Senate

23 seats in the Senate

Party Leader % Seats MDB 57.07 8 ARENA Ernesto Geisel 42.93 15 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

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Parliamentary elections were held in Brazil on 15 November 1978.^[1] The pro-government National Renewal Alliance Party (ARENA) won 231 of the 420 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 15 of the 23 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 81.7%.^[2]

They were the last elections held under a mandatory two-party system, as reforms were enacted in 1979 by Brazil's governing military junta, represented in Congress by ARENA, to allow a multi-party system to emerge in an effort to combat the growing popularity of the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) by splitting their vote.^[3]

Electoral system

In 1977 the electoral system had been reformed, making the election of senators indirect. As with the 1979 reforms, this was primarily done in response to the growth of the Brazilian Democratic Movement.^[3] The Senate election saw the MDB win only eight of the 23 seats, despite receiving 57% of the vote.^[4]

Results

Chamber of Deputies

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	National Renewal Alliance	15,053,387	50.42	231	+28
	Brazilian Democratic Movement	14,803,526	49.58	191	+30
Total		29,856,913	100.00	422	+58
Valid votes		29,856,913	79.35
Invalid/blank votes		7,770,910	20.65
Total votes		37,627,823	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		46,985,466	80.08
Source: Nohlen

References