# Law No. 6359 of September 22, 1976

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105659623](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105659623)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-6359-of-september-22-1976

## Summary
Law No. 6359 of September 22, 1976 is a Brazilian federal statute that established deadlines for electoral domicile registration and party affiliation for the 1976 municipal elections. Approved by President Ernesto Geisel during Brazil's military dictatorship period, this law regulated critical procedural requirements for candidates and voters participating in local elections.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 6359, de 22 de setembro de 1976
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 6359/1976
- **Publication Date:** September 22, 1976
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília, Brazil
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **President at Time of Approval:** Ernesto Geisel
- **Approval Method:** Promulgation
- **Legal Classification:** Instance of a "statute" (formal written document that creates law)
- **Jurisdictional Scope:** Applies to the entire Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Primary Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Law Digest:** FIXA PRAZO PARA DOMICILIO ELEITORAL E FILIAÇÃO PARTIDARIA PARA AS ELEIÇÕES MUNICIPAIS DE 1976 (Establishes deadline for electoral domicile and party affiliation for the 1976 municipal elections)
- **Main Subjects:** Time limit (Prazo), decision/fixation (Fixação), political party (Partido Politico), mayor (Prefeito)
- **LexML Brazil Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1976-09-22;6359
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l6359.htm
- **Wikidata Description:** Brazilian law
- **Wikimedia Project Focus:** Included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws

## FAQs
**What is Law No. 6359 of September 22, 1976?**
Law No. 6359 is a federal statute enacted on September 22, 1976, that established specific deadlines for electoral domicile registration and party affiliation requirements for Brazil's 1976 municipal elections. It served as procedural legislation governing candidate eligibility and voter registration parameters for local elections during the military regime.

**What specific requirements did this law regulate?**
The law fixed mandatory deadlines for two critical electoral procedures: establishing electoral domicile (domicílio eleitoral) and completing party affiliation (filiação partidária) for participants in the 1976 municipal elections. These provisions directly impacted mayoral candidates and party members seeking to contest local offices.

**Who approved this law and when?**
President Ernesto Geisel approved Law No. 6359 on September 22, 1976, through the constitutional act of promulgation. The approval occurred under his administration during Brazil's military government period, which lasted from 1964 to 1985.

**What type of legal document is this and how is it classified?**
This document is classified as a "statute," which is a formal written instrument that creates law, encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws. As a statute, it represents the concrete manifestation of statutory law and functions as an official legal rule enacted by the federal government.

**Where can the full text of Law No. 6359 be accessed?**
The complete text is publicly available at the official URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l6359.htm, hosted by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil. This digital access ensures public domain availability as official legal documents are not subject to copyright restrictions in Brazil.

**What jurisdiction does this law apply to and in what language was it published?**
Law No. 6359 applies to the entire jurisdiction of the Federative Republic of Brazil, covering all 26 states and the Federal District. The law was published in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of all federal legislation.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 6359 of September 22, 1976 played a crucial role in structuring Brazil's electoral process during a pivotal period of controlled political liberalization. By establishing clear deadlines for electoral domicile and party affiliation, the law created a formal regulatory framework that governed candidate participation in the 1976 municipal elections. This legislation mattered because it defined the legal boundaries for political engagement at the local level during the military regime's "slow and gradual" opening process, ensuring that electoral procedures were standardized across Brazil's vast federal system. The law's focus on municipal elections—a level of government that remained relatively competitive even under authoritarian rule—demonstrated the regime's attempt to maintain institutional order while allowing limited political participation. Its enactment under President Ernesto Geisel's administration (1974-1979) reflects the complex relationship between authoritarian control and electoral formalities in that era. For historians and legal scholars, this statute provides documentary evidence of how electoral engineering functioned during Brazil's military period, showing how procedural rules could shape political competition. The law's inclusion in WikiProject Brazilian Laws indicates its recognized value in the systematic documentation of Brazilian legal history. Moreover, its public domain status and digital availability through the official Planalto portal exemplify Brazil's commitment to transparent access to historical legislation, enabling researchers, political scientists, and citizens to examine the legal mechanics of past electoral systems.

## Notable For
- **Specific Electoral Focus:** Uniquely targets the 1976 municipal elections with precise deadlines for electoral domicile and party affiliation, distinguishing it from general electoral laws
- **Military Era Legislation:** Enacted during Brazil's military dictatorship under President Ernesto Geisel, representing the regime's approach to electoral regulation
- **LexML Identification:** Bears the standardized identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1976-09-22;6359 within Brazil's legal markup language system
- **Presidential Promulgation:** Approved directly by the Presidency through promulgation, reflecting the centralized lawmaking process of the military government
- **Multi-Subject Regulation:** Addresses four distinct legal subjects simultaneously: time limits, decision/fixation, political parties, and mayoral offices
- **WikiProject Inclusion:** Specifically tracked by WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating its cataloging importance in Brazilian legal documentation efforts
- **Brasília Publication Origin:** Published in Brasília, the federal capital since 1960, emphasizing its status as national-level legislation
- **Public Domain Accessibility:** Available without copyright restrictions at an official .gov.br domain, ensuring permanent public access

## Body

### Overview and Legal Purpose
Law No. 6359 of September 22, 1976 constitutes a federal statute designed to establish regulatory deadlines for Brazil's 1976 municipal electoral cycle. The law's digest explicitly states its purpose: "FIXA PRAZO PARA DOMICILIO ELEITORAL E FILIAÇÃO PARTIDARIA PARA AS ELEIÇÕES MUNICIPAIS DE 1976." This legislation created binding temporal requirements for two fundamental aspects of electoral participation: the establishment of electoral domicile (domicílio eleitoral) and the formalization of party affiliation (filiação partidária). By fixing these deadlines, the statute provided legal certainty for electoral authorities, political parties, and candidates contesting mayoral positions across Brazil's 4,000+ municipalities during a period of controlled political opening under military rule.

### Legal Classification and Structural Identity
As an instance of the "statute" class, Law No. 6359 belongs to a category defined as a formal written document that creates law, encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws. This classification positions the law within Brazil's statutory framework as a manifestation of statutory law with "legal norm" as one of its constituent parts. The document functions as a subclass of "written work," "document," and "rule" in knowledge organization systems. Its creation followed draft law procedures and resulted from legislative action, ultimately producing statutory law applicable nationwide. The law's copyright status falls under public domain doctrine, as official legal documents in Brazil are not subject to copyright restrictions, ensuring unrestricted public access and reproduction.

### Approval and Promulgation Process
President Ernesto Geisel approved Law No. 6359 on September 22, 1976, through the constitutional mechanism of promulgation. This approval occurred within the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the highest executive authority in the federal government. Geisel's administration (1974-1979) represented the military regime's "distensão" (decompression) phase, characterized by measured political liberalization. The promulgation method indicates that the law passed through the required legislative channels—likely the National Congress, which functioned with limited autonomy during the military period—before receiving presidential sanction. The specific date of approval coincides with the law's publication date, suggesting immediate enactment without delay.

### Jurisdictional Scope and Geographic Application
The statute applies to the entire jurisdictional territory of the Federative Republic of Brazil, encompassing all 26 states and the Federal District where Brasília is located. Brazil, as the law's host nation, is the world's fifth-largest country by area at 8,515,767 km² and operates as a federal republic with a presidential system. The law's universal application across this vast territory meant that municipalities from the Amazon region to the southern border with Uruguay operated under identical electoral deadlines. This nationwide standardization was crucial for maintaining federal electoral coherence during the municipal elections of 1976.

### Subject Matter and Procedural Provisions
The law addresses four main subjects explicitly identified in its metadata: time limits (Prazo), decision/fixation (Fixação), political parties (Partido Politico), and mayors (Prefeito). These subjects reveal the statute's focus on procedural mechanics rather than substantive policy. The time limit component established cutoff dates after which electoral domicile changes or party affiliations would not be valid for the 1976 elections. The decision/fixation element indicates the law's authoritative determination of these deadlines. Political party involvement shows the regulation affected partisan organizations directly, while the mayoral reference confirms the municipal level focus, as mayors (prefeitos) are the chief executives of Brazilian municipalities.

### Documentation and Persistent Access
Law No. 6359 is permanently identified by the LexML Brazil URN urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1976-09-22;6359, a standardized identifier within Brazil's Legal Markup Language system. The full text remains accessible at the official URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l6359.htm, maintained by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil. This digital preservation ensures continuous public access to the original 1976 document. The law was published in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, which is spoken by over 213 million people and serves as the language of all federal legislation. The publication occurred in Brasília, the federal capital since April 22, 1960, which replaced Rio de Janeiro as the seat of federal government.

### Cataloging and Knowledge Organization
The statute is formally cited as Lei nº 6359/1976 in legal and academic references. Its Wikidata description identifies it as a "Brazilian law," and it is specifically tracked by WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a Wikimedia initiative dedicated to documenting Brazil's legislative history. This project inclusion indicates the law's recognized significance for encyclopedic documentation. The law's metadata includes references dated January 28, 2021, February 17, 2021, and April 10, 2021, showing recent verification of its details through official sources including the LexML.gov.br portal and the Presidency's legislative database. These verification dates confirm the information's currency and reliability for research purposes.

### Historical and Electoral Context
The 1976 municipal elections occurred during Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985), specifically in President Geisel's administration which pursued controlled political liberalization. Municipal elections maintained greater pluralism than national contests during this period, making procedural regulation particularly important. By fixing deadlines for electoral domicile and party affiliation, Law No. 6359 helped structure participation in these relatively competitive local races. The law's enactment date—September 22, 1976—placed it shortly before the November 1976 elections, suggesting it addressed final procedural clarifications. This timing indicates the military government's efforts to maintain electoral order while managing the scope of political competition at the municipal level, where over 4,000 mayoral positions were contested across Brazil's federated municipalities.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1976-09-22;6359)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=6359&ano=1976&data=22/09/1976&ato=275ATQq50MnRVT5a4)
3. LexML Brasil