By Camilo Diniz
Brazil's Partido Novo (Novo Party), a right-wing, liberal party, says it gained 2,200 new members in just 24 hours after it publicly declared that it does not recognize the presidential election victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of the Workers' Party (PT). According to the outlet Diário do Centro do Mundo, citing the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, the party made the announcement on Saturday night, Oct. 31. The subject also gained traction on social media, including the X account @NewsLiberdade.
Novo credits its stance for the membership jump
The party attributes the surge in membership to the attention its position received. The outlets Repórter PB and O Antagonista also note that the figure is the party's own claim and has not been independently verified.
According to O Antagonista, the decision runs against the recognition of the result by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Brazil's top electoral authority, and by 27 other parties. Novo says it is the only party to take this position publicly.
Three TSE suits seek to remove the Lula-Alckmin ticket
The core of Novo's position is legal. The party has filed three Electoral Judicial Investigation Actions (AIJEs) at the TSE, asking for the removal of the ticket formed by Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB). According to the reports, the suits allege abuse of economic and political power during the election year. The party argues that measures adopted in that period favored the candidates seeking reelection.
Novo's national president, Eduardo Ribeiro, sought to separate the challenge from the debate over voting machines. “We are not questioning the voting machines or the will of the voters. We are questioning the means used to reach the result,” he said, according to the publications. In his view, “an election cannot be considered fair when there are suspicions that the machinery of government was used to favor those in power.”
In another statement, cited by the outlet TMC, Ribeiro explained why the party will not back down: recognizing the victory would be contradictory while the party still challenges the ticket in court. “It will not change,” he said.
Why it matters: a good moment in Congress
Despite its isolation on the presidential question, Novo is having a positive moment in the legislature. According to O Antagonista and TMC, the party elected ten federal deputies and three senators and cleared the country's “barrier clause,” a performance threshold that guarantees access to the party fund and to TV airtime. Ribeiro said the party remains open to anyone who identifies as right-wing, liberal and conservative.
What comes next
The three suits remain under review at the TSE, which has not yet ruled on the removal requests. The outcome will show whether Novo's legal bet has concrete consequences. It will also be possible to measure whether the 2,200 new members, a figure reported by the party itself, turn into lasting growth.
VDD Analysis
Challenging in court the use of the machinery of government in an election year is a right, not a threat to democracy. Part of the conservative electorate wants explanations about state resources being used in favor of those in power, and the TSE owes clear answers. If the suits are rejected, it should be done with transparency and solid reasoning, so that trust in the process does not depend only on the words of the winner.
