Anyone planning to take part in the election for Fortaleza's Municipal Council for Cultural Policy (CMPC) for the 2026-2028 term first needs to decide whether to participate only as a voter or also as a candidate. Both options require registration on the Ceará Cultural Map, proof of cultural activity in Fortaleza and the choice of only one cultural segment or territory.
On the official Cultural Map platform and in the schedule attached to the rules, voter and candidate registration runs from September 9 to October 9, 2026, until 11:59 p.m. The City Hall news item includes a service box stating September 8 as the starting date, but the article text itself, the registration pages and the official rules indicate September 9. To submit an application, participants should follow the official opportunity page and any amendments published on the Ceará Cultural Map.
Who can vote and who can run
| Role | Main requirements |
|---|---|
| Voter | An individual domiciled in Fortaleza. People aged 18 or older may participate; those aged 16 or 17 must be legally emancipated. The person must have been registered on the Ceará Cultural Map for at least three months before publication of the notice and must prove at least one year of cultural activity in Fortaleza. |
| Candidate | In addition to registering first as a voter, the person must prove at least two years of cultural activity in Fortaleza. A person may run for only one seat. Civil society members of the CMPC may not have an employment or service relationship with Fortaleza's municipal public administration as a permanent employee, outsourced worker, commissioned appointee or holder of a position of trust. |
For seats representing Regional Executive Secretariats, the rules require proof of residence and cultural activity in the corresponding territory. A voter's Cultural Map profile must also contain a clear, high-resolution photo that allows identification.
Documents required from voters
- completed online registration form;
- official photo identification document;
- proof of residence issued within the three months before registration, or a residence declaration when applicable;
- CV in PDF format with a portfolio proving at least one year of cultural activity in the city of Fortaleza;
- website, blog and social media links, optional;
- video links published on YouTube, Instagram or Vimeo, optional.
Files attached to voter registration may not exceed 5 MB per file. Under the conditions set out in the rules, a residence declaration may be used by circus artists, members of nomadic or itinerant populations and people experiencing homelessness.
Documents required from candidates
A candidacy requires prior registration as a voter. In the candidate registration stage, the applicant must submit:
- online registration form;
- official photo identification document;
- recent proof of residence or a residence declaration when applicable;
- CV in PDF format with a profile and history describing artistic and cultural experience over the previous two years;
- a video of up to one minute with a short biography and presentation of the applicant's work in the chosen segment;
- a declaration of no employment or service relationship with the Municipality of Fortaleza, according to Annex III;
- for candidates to the Black and Peripheral Artists seat, the self-declaration form in Annex IV;
- optional media clippings, website and blog links, videos and other evidence of cultural activity.
Candidate attachments may be up to 10 MB per file. The Special Electoral Commission reviews the submitted information and documents before approving each registration.
Which seats are being elected
The notice provides for the election of civil society representatives to 25 CMPC seats. They cover Visual Arts, Photography, Games and Audiovisual, Literature, Music, Theater, Dance, Circus, Traditional Popular Culture, Cultural Producers, Handicrafts, Digital Art and Culture, Design, Performance, Technical Areas, Black and Peripheral Artists, Puppet Theater, Hip-Hop, Storytellers and Reading Mediators, Humor and Fashion, plus four territorial seats representing the Regional Executive Secretariats.
The four territorial seats group Regionals 1, 12 and 2; 7, 6 and 9; 4, 8 and 10; and 5, 11 and 3. Each voter and each candidate may be linked to only one segment or territory.
CMPC election calendar
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Voter and candidate registration | 09/09/2026 to 10/09/2026 |
| Review and validation of applications | 10/13/2026 to 10/19/2026 |
| Preliminary eligibility list | 10/20/2026 |
| Appeal period for eligibility | 10/21/2026 to 10/22/2026 |
| Appeal review | 10/23/2026 |
| Final voter and candidate list | by 10/30/2026 |
| Voting | 11/03/2026 to 11/23/2026 |
| Voting result | 11/24/2026 |
| Appeal of the result | 11/25/2026 to 11/26/2026 |
| Appeal review | 11/27/2026 to 11/30/2026 |
| Final proclamation | by 12/02/2026 |
| Swearing-in | CMPC session in December 2026 |
The rules state that the Special Electoral Commission may change the schedule by publishing a new timetable or new dates on the Cultural Map.
How voting will work
Voting will take place on the Cultural Map platform for participants whose voter registration has been approved. Voting is direct and secret, and each voter may vote only for the seat selected during registration. In each segment, the candidate with the most votes becomes the full member and the second-place candidate becomes the alternate. The rules also establish a minimum threshold of 10 votes per seat, based on the total votes cast for all candidates in that seat; if the threshold is not reached, a new election must be held for that seat.
Where to register and follow the process
- voter registration on the Ceará Cultural Map;
- candidate registration on the Ceará Cultural Map;
- official Fortaleza City Hall news item;
- Special Electoral Commission email: cmpceleitoral2026@gmail.com.
Before submitting the application, participants should check that their Cultural Map profile is updated, the photo allows identification, the documents prove the required period of cultural activity and the selected segment or territory is correct. After registration, participants are responsible for monitoring eligibility lists, appeals and voting information.
