Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) held a public hearing on August 20, 2026, to examine proposals for monitoring the broadcast of free political advertisements on radio and television. The hearing came after the Liberal Party (PL), which backed former President Jair Bolsonaro's 2022 re-election bid, alleged that many stations failed to air the party's allotted inserts.
Background of the complaint
In 2022, the PL claimed that an audit hired by Bolsonaro's campaign found the party received at least 154,000 fewer radio and TV spots than the Workers' Party (PT) ticket led by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The party said the shortfall amounted to a potential fraud and asked the TSE to tighten oversight.
PL's proposed monitoring measures
During the hearing, the PL suggested that the media consortium responsible for generating the ad materials keep electronic logs of file downloads by each broadcaster. This would allow regulators to see which stations did not retrieve the ads they were supposed to air. The party also urged that both the ad producers and retransmitting stations retain proof of broadcast, such as affidavits or transmission logs.
Current rules for free electoral advertising
Brazilian electoral law mandates that radio and TV stations air free political ads in 30‑ and 60‑second inserts throughout their daily programming, totaling 70 minutes per day. Stations must also broadcast the larger free‑airtime blocks on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at times set by the electoral justice.
The allocation of inserts for the 2026 election cycle has already been distributed: the PT receives 433 spots, the PL 339, the PSD 159 and Avante 47. The order of appearance rotates daily, with Avante slated to go first on the opening day of the free‑airtime period, which begins on Friday, August 28, 2026.
Next steps
The TSE's technical staff will review all suggestions from the hearing and decide whether to incorporate any of them into the final media plan for the 2026 elections. If adopted, the monitoring system would aim to increase transparency and reduce disputes over whether broadcasters comply with their legal obligations to air electoral advertising.