Brazilian Justice Gilmar Mendes: Voter turnout drove second-round election success

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes said the voter was the main protagonist of the second round of elections, citing record-low abstention and blank or null votes as evidence of democratic vitality. Mendes highlighted that abstention fell 1.87 percentage points between rounds, from 21.08% to 19.22%, the largest drop since redemocratization. Over 30 million voters skipped the second round, down from 33 million in the first. He also praised the speed of vote counting, noting results were confirmed shortly after polls closed in several states. Mendes called for unity and institutional strengthening following the election.