Weapons sales will not be banned in Brazil. On the basis of the returns tallied so far (Monday morning), representing 99.96% of the ballot boxes, 63.94% of the voters said "no" to the ban, while 36.06% said "yes."
The 21.84% abstention rate in yesterday’s (October 23) referendum was higher than in the last two elections. Approximately 20 million Brazilians either failed to show up or presented justifications for their absence at one of the more than 320 thousand polling booths in the country. Up to this moment, the percentage of blank votes is 1.39%, and invalid votes, 1.68%.
The proposal to ban arms and ammunition sales in the country, supported by the parliamentary For a Brazil Without Weapons front, failed to win a single state. The region with the highest percentage of votes against the prohibition was the South (79.59%), followed by the North (71.06%), the Center-West (68.60%), Southeast (60.31%), and the Northeast (57.51%).
Rio Grande do Sul was the state with the highest proportion of "no" votes: 86.83%. Pernambuco, on the other hand, returned the highest percentage of votes favorable to the ban: 45.51%. In the nation’s capital, 56.83% of the population voted against the prohibition and 43.17%, in favor.
The final outcome of the referendum should be announced today by the Federal Elections Board (TSE, Tribunal Superior Eleitoral). Votes are still being tallied in the states of Acre, in which the returns for 99.80% of the ballot boxes have been counted, Mato Grosso, with 99.90% of the counting done, and Pará, with 98.79%.
Agência Brasil
