Brazilians voted on Sunday (October 25) in a tight presidential runoff between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, with polling stations open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Brasília time and nearly 160 million citizens eligible to vote, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via Aurax News
Final polls released on Saturday pointed to a knife-edge finish: Datafolha and Quaest both put Flávio Bolsonaro at about 51% and Lula at about 49% of valid votes, within the margin of error. An earlier MDA poll reported by Reuters put Flávio at 46.3% and Lula at 45.0%.
The runoff was forced after the October 4 first round, in which Flávio Bolsonaro finished first with 47.03% of valid votes against Lula's 45.16%, according to Brazil's electoral court, the TSE, reported by The Brief. Neither candidate crossed the 50% needed to win outright. Reuters noted that no candidate who finished second in Brazil's first round has gone on to win the presidency.
Source: The Brief (TSE / Reuters)
Both candidates voted on Sunday morning — Flávio Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro and Lula in São Bernardo do Campo, near São Paulo, where his political career began in organised labour. Voters in five states and the Federal District were also choosing governors in runoff votes.
The TSE was due to begin publishing official results as soon as polls closed at 5 p.m. Brasília time, with electronic voting expected to produce a clear picture the same night. The winner will lead Latin America's largest economy for the next four years, in a result Reuters said could shift Brazil sharply to the right and closer to the United States if Flávio Bolsonaro wins.
Turnout. The first round saw high abstention, and analysts say voters who stayed home on October 4 — and the roughly 918,900 Brazilians voting abroad — could decide a race separated by only a few points.