Brazil elections 2018: the destabilising effects of breathtaking judicial discretion

The discretionary decisions and interminable in-fighting of Brazil’s vast and intricate judicial system have significant consequences for election outcomes, and 2018 is no exception, writes David Lehmann (Federal University of Bahia). The Brazilian electoral system is regulated by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), itself presided over by a supreme court justice and staffed by a weighty electoral bureaucracy. Some of the rules governing the electoral process, especially those concerning campaign finance, have been made by the TSE independently of particular legislation, and their effects can be seen in election outcomes, most notably increases in the turnover of deputies and the number of women and wealthy individuals elected.