Brazil is holding the first round of its general election, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro leading a race that polls suggest is likely to go to an October 25 runoff.
Brazilians are voting on Sunday in the first round of a general election that will choose a president and renew Congress. Reuters reported from Brasilia and Sao Paulo that the campaign has been dominated by corruption scandals, economic anxiety and accusations of US meddling.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, is seeking a fourth term. His main rival is Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The former president is not on the ballot: BBC reported he is barred from office and serving a 27-year sentence over an attempt to overturn his 2022 loss.
If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of valid votes, the top two advance to a runoff on October 25. Reuters said surveys show Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro roughly even in a likely second round, while other candidates including Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema have not broken through. BBC Brasil's tracker had both frontrunners near 40 percent, with other candidates at 4 percent or less.
Voters are also electing the full Chamber of Deputies and two-thirds of the Senate. Reuters noted the next government will inherit high public debt and a weak growth outlook, and that both leading candidates skipped major television debates.
Al Jazeera reported both frontrunners closed their campaigns voicing confidence in a first-round win. Official results were still being counted as this brief was filed, so no winner is stated here.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Lula told supporters the vote was a choice between democracy and barbarism, Al Jazeera reported.
- Flavio Bolsonaro said he was convinced the pieces were in place for a first-round win.
- Reuters said each frontrunner is rejected by roughly half of voters in polling.