5 hours before
Credit, Caio Abib
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The voting queue in Portugal is turning and the waiting time exceeds two hours
Brazilians living abroad faced long lines in this Sunday’s elections (2). In countries like France, Ireland, England and Portugal, the waiting time for the ballot box lasted more than an hour.
In this year’s election, 697,000 Brazilians are registered to vote abroad an increase of almost 40% compared to the 2018 election. According to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), voting will take place in 181 cities around the world. The countries with the most registered voters are the United States, Portugal, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany.
In London, where 34,400 Brazilians are eligible to vote, the delay was more than two hours at certain times of the day. The line snaked around the block from West London College, the school in Hammersmith where the vote was taking place.
Despite the delay, Brazilians reported that this year’s program was better organized than in 2018, when voting took place at the Brazilian embassy.
“This year the election program was much more organized, the school was big, with three different entrances to vote. When I got to my section, there was a long line, but it was organized. I found the atmosphere much calmer this year. sides, but a peaceful atmosphere with no conflict,” Brazilian Mariana Mesanelli Nunes, who has lived in England for more than five years, told BBC News Brazil.
Credit, Luis Barrucho/BBC
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Lines in London went around the block in the afternoon
“Before I left I spoke to several women and many were afraid to wear red clothes for fear of reprisals. I saw many people wearing more discreet clothing, but in the end there was no violence. It is square and manifests quietly.”
In Paris, the queue is so long that voters have been told they will likely have to extend voting time beyond 5pm.
“Here they have already warned that there is no time for everyone to vote before 5pm. They will distribute passwords to those who can vote after work,” said Parisbased Brazilian Ana Paula Andreolla.
Credit, Ana Paula Andreolla
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In Paris, voters were warned that voting must go beyond the scheduled time of 5 p.m. local time.
In Lisbon, Brazilian Caio Abib waited in line for more than two hours while speaking to BBC News Brasil. In Portugal, 45,200 Brazilians are eligible to vote it is the city with the highest electoral density abroad.
“There’s a lot of people. I think we’ll be here at least three hours before we get to the ballot box, because from where you can’t even see the end of the line. But at least I haven’t seen any confusion so far. It’s civilized , a calm climate,” said Abib.
In Dublin, the capital of Ireland, those leaving home to vote also had to wait for more than two hours. “12,000 Brazilians can vote here. There is only one polling station with 16 polling stations, so it takes about two hours. In my case, it will take a little longer,” said Fernanda de Andrade, from Brazil, who was also there in line when he spoke to BBC News Brasil.
Credit, Fernanda de Andrade
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The Brazilians queued in Dublin for about two hours to vote
In Oslo, Norway, a Brazilian said the voting took 40 minutes. In Washington, USA, the delay was about 30 minutes. In New York, Brazilian Nei Valente reported whoever had the E title managed to vote in 30 minutes. For those without an etitle, the queue was around an hour.
The United States is home to the largest number of Brazilians registered to vote this Sunday. The cities with the highest concentrations, according to the TSE, are Miami at 40,100 and Boston at 37,100. In Montreal, Canada, the wait ranged from 15 minutes to 4 hours depending on the section and time.
“It took exactly four hours before I could vote. I arrived at 9:40am and it was very busy. And I wasn’t able to vote accurately until 1:40 p.m. The poll worker said there were 800 people present just my voting department,” he told BBC News. Brazil Iran Albuquerque, 38, has lived in Montreal for five years.
Rodrigo Mota, who lives in Rome, Italy, said he spent a few minutes in line. “Everything was quiet here. I went early and dialed in less than 15 minutes. Movement outside was normal, with supporters on both sides. But no fuss,” he said.