Voting is under way in Brazil's first-round presidential election, with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro leading polls and a runoff on 25 October likely if no candidate tops 50 percent of valid votes.
Brazilians are voting on Sunday, 4 October 2026, in the first round of a general election whose presidential race is dominated by incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. BBC News reported that polls open in a contest in which the two front-runners share familiar family names, and that a second round is set for 25 October if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of valid votes.
Reuters reported that Lula closed his campaign on Saturday with a march through Sao Paulo, while Flavio Bolsonaro joined a motorcycle caravan in Santa Barbara d'Oeste and Americana before a rally in Rio de Janeiro. Both men said they expected to win in the first round, even as published polls pointed to a runoff.
A Reuters poll roundup on Saturday cited a CNT/MDA survey of 2,007 people from 30 September to 2 October putting Lula at 47.8 percent and Bolsonaro at 42.1 percent of valid first-round votes, and a Datafolha survey of 4,006 people on 2-3 October putting them at 45 percent and 42 percent. A Quaest survey of 3,702 people over the same dates had them at 46 percent and 45 percent. Margins of error were about 2 to 2.2 points.
Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio's father and president from 2019 to 2023, is not on the ballot. BBC News reported he is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing in 2022. Reuters reported he is under house arrest after being convicted of attempting to overturn that result. The two accounts differ on his custody status.
If the first-round result is inconclusive, the top two candidates advance to 25 October. Official results had not been declared at the time of this brief.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Lula told supporters in Sao Paulo the vote was a choice between democracy and barbarism
- Flavio Bolsonaro said he was convinced a first-round win was in place
- Reuters described large crowds at Lula's closing march