Brasilia, Oct 2 (Prensa Latina) More than 144 million Brazilians are called to day to vote in the first round of municipal elections in which they are fighting for the 5,568 mayoralties and more than 310,000 councilors seats.

In total, more than 490,000 registered candidates representing 35 political parties, an unprecedented figure in the history of the country.

Between 1996 and 2016 and according to figures released by the Electoral Supreme Court (TSE), the number of parties registered in Brazil increased by 45.8 percent and only in the last five new groups got their registration with the TSE.

For the voter, that party fragmentation is bad, it messes up and damages the political debate, warned in statements to news portal UOL Professor of Political Science of the Getulio Vargas Foundation, Antonio Teixeira.

The professor mentioned as an example the populous city of Sao Paulo, the one with largest electoral weight in this South American nation, where there are 11 candidates to fill the mayor seat, and stressed that the voter does not manage to separate, easily, one candidate from another.

In these elections, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) with 44, 486 and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), 35, 748 are the ones with largest number of registered candidates; while, at the other end the New Party (114) and Operaria Cause Party (PCO), which recorded 85.

As background, municipal elections will be held in Brazil with nearly 20 percent of campaign donations under suspicion and twenty shot dead candidates.

The TSE also drew attention to the occurrence, throughout the campaign, of about twenty murders of electoral contenders in a dozen states of the federation.

Attacks on the candidates, all carried out with firearms, occurred in Bahia, Ceara, Goias, Maranhao, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Sao Paulo .

Facing this situation the Defense Ministry announced that in this Sunday's elections will deploy around 25,000 troops from the Army, Navy, and Airforce to strengthen security in 408 localities of 14 states, for being considered the most critical areas.