Brasilia In a surprisingly close race, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is heading for victory in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election. The left ex-head of state came to 47.46 percent, as the electoral office announced on Sunday after counting 93 percent of the votes. The right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro received 44.03 percent.
Lula was clearly ahead in the polls recently. According to experts, many respondents did not identify their actual favorites or only decided on election day. According to the opinion research institute Datafolha, however, neither of the two will be able to unite more than 50 percent of the votes. The election will therefore result in a runoff on October 30, the institute said.
The election has extremely divided the largest economy in Latin America. Lula called Bolsonaro a genocide because of his hesitant corona policy, and Bolsonaro called his opponent a thief after his conviction for corruption. The incumbent’s supporters have repeatedly openly called for a military coup. Bolsonaro had recently cast doubt on the electoral system and indicated that he might not recognize the result.
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