Brazil closed the first round of its general election on Sunday with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro still close in pre-election polling and a 25 October runoff likely if neither clears 50 percent of valid votes.
Polling stations across Brazil closed at 17:00 Brasília time on Sunday after voters cast ballots in the first round of a general election that also fills the Chamber of Deputies and part of the Senate.
The contest is led by 80-year-old President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, seeking another term, and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Reuters reported that polls had the two roughly even in a likely runoff, while BBC Brazil’s aggregator put the gap at about two points.
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court says more than 158.7 million people are eligible to vote, including about one million abroad. A candidate needs more than 50 percent of valid votes to win outright; otherwise the top two meet again on 25 October.
After voting, Lula framed the choice as one between democracy and what he called barbarism. Flávio Bolsonaro said he wanted to free the Brazilian people. Both skipped major televised debates, and Reuters said corruption allegations, the economy and crime dominated the campaign rather than detailed policy exchanges.
Electronic counting is expected to produce a national picture within hours of the close. Other candidates, including former governors Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema, had not broken the polarized two-way race in pre-election surveys.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Lula, after voting, described the choice as democracy versus barbarism.
- Flávio Bolsonaro said he wanted to free the Brazilian people.
- Reuters reported each leading candidate was rejected by roughly half of voters in surveys.