Parliamentary elections were held in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

on 15 November 1978.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p. 173 The pro-government

National Renewal Alliance Party The National Renewal Alliance ( Portuguese: ''Aliança Renovadora Nacional'', ARENA) was a far-right political party that existed in Brazil between 1966 and 1979. It was the official party of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 196 ...

(ARENA) won 231 of the 420 seats in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...

and 15 of the 23 seats in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

. Voter turnout was 81.7%. They were the last elections held under a mandatory

two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually refe ...

, 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 The Brazilian Democratic Movement ( pt, Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a "big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, ...

(MDB) by splitting their vote.Nohlen, p. 166

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. The Senate election saw the MDB win only eight of the 23 seats, despite receiving 57% of the vote.Nohlen, pp. 212–228

Results

Chamber of Deputies

Senate

References

{{Brazilian elections General elections in Brazil

Legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...