O fim da incerteza e a certeza da vitória: eleições majoritárias municipais com candidato único no Rio Grande do sul em 2008

The article examines the case of thirty towns in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, that had only candidate for mayor in the 2008 local elections. The purpose is to analyze the profile of the single candidate, and from electoral data, measure the impact that this experience produces for political participation, for voting decision and also for democratic theory itself. It is shown how the decision of the party elites to offer only one competitor in local elections does not receive a corresponding response of consensus of individuals, revealing that this attempt to extinguish the competitive nature of the election is opposed by a significant part of the constituency