Rio Election Court Confirms Douglas Ruas's First-Round Win After Vote Recalculation

Rio de Janeiro's regional election court confirmed on October 10 that Douglas Ruas won the governor's race in the first round after recalculating valid votes. The court excluded 274,411 votes cast for Anthony Garotinho following an October 8 ruling by Brazil's Superior Electoral Court. Ruas's 4,271,199 votes then represented 50.88% of valid ballots, while Eduardo Paes received 3,706,984 votes, or 44.16%. The recalculation changed the valid-vote total without new voting or a physical recount, eliminating the need for the October 25 runoff. Formal proclamation remains subject to a publication period and any challenges being resolved.