Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, the TSE, unanimously approved on Thursday morning (27) the deployment of federal troops to reinforce security for the first round of the 2026 elections in the northeastern state of Ceará, scheduled for October 4. The request came from the state's regional electoral court, the TRE-CE, and covers 66 municipalities, including the state capital, Fortaleza. The decision was reported by G1.
The case rapporteur was Justice Nunes Marques, president of the court, who voted to grant the request. He was joined by justices Dias Toffoli, Antonio Carlos Ferreira, Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, Floriano de Azevedo Marques and Estela Aranha.
The reinforcement was requested amid reports of interference by criminal organizations in Ceará's electoral process. According to G1, members of the Comando Vermelho, one of Brazil's largest crime syndicates, based in Rio de Janeiro, charged candidates for state and federal deputy R$ 200,000 (about US$ 37,000) to allow them to campaign in Forquilha, in the state's northern region. Earlier this month, three city council members from Sobral were arrested in an operation investigating the syndicate's influence in the 2024 municipal elections and in this year's vote.
Request came from electoral judges
The TRE-CE approved the request unanimously in early July, following a recommendation from its Permanent Security Commission. According to the regional court, the body received statements from electoral judges in more than 60 municipalities defending the reinforcement so voters can cast their ballots safely. Consulted during the proceedings, state public security authorities said there was no need for a federal force, but did not oppose institutional cooperation between state and federal forces. The Electoral Public Prosecutor's Office backed sending the request to the TSE.
Ceará was not the only state covered. According to Valor Econômico and Gazeta do Povo, the TSE on Thursday authorized the use of federal forces in elections in five states. In Acre, in the Amazon region, the request cited the advance of criminal factions, Gazeta reported.
Requesting federal forces to guarantee order and the regularity of the vote is an exclusive power of the TSE. The next step is for the court to forward the request to the Presidency, which holds the authority to approve the deployment. Without that approval, federal troops will not be on the ground on election day, October 4.