Brazil heads to runoff as Bolsonaro leads Lula in first round of presidential election
Brazil’s presidential election will go to the second round after far-right candidate Flavio Bolsonaro narrowly outpolled incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva but failed to secure the majority needed to avoid a runoff.
Mr Bolsonaro took an early lead as the South American nation began reporting results on Sunday afternoon in the first round of a tight election, following a campaign dominated by corruption scandals, economic anxiety and accusations of US meddling.
The field of 13 candidates had been led by two clear frontrunners – Mr Lula da Silva, 80, who was seeking a fourth term, and Flavio, the 45-year-old son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
With 99.9 per cent of the votes counted, Mr Bolsonaro had won 47 per cent, compared with 45.1 per cent for the incumbent. Mr Bolsonaro received 56.1m votes to Mr Lula da Silva’s 53.8m.
They will now contest a 25 October runoff.
Early results had shown southern states leaning towards Mr Bolsonaro reporting faster, while votes from Mr Lula da Silva’s northeast stronghold were tallied slower.
Mr Bolsonaro-aligned politicians won several key races, including three seats for members of his family. As many as 34 of the 54 newly elected senators are from the right or the far-right.
Mr Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party emerged with the largest number of governors, senators and federal deputies elected so far, putting it in a strong position to wield influence in Congress.
The runoff will determine whether Brazil joins a wider wave of electoral gains across Latin America by right-wing candidates aligned with US president Donald Trump, or whether Mr Lula da Silva will secure another term despite tensions between his government and Washington over trade and security.
Despite growing worries over Brazil’s public finances and sluggish economic growth, the campaign had offered meagre policy debate, as both leading candidates skipped the major TV debates.
Addressing his supporters, Mr Bolsonaro said that the result pointed to “the end of an era” for the ruling Workers’ party.
“Lula has fought seven presidential elections. He’s worried about power. I am worried about the future of Brazil,” he said.
While polls right up until Saturday showed Mr Lula da Silva would likely lead the first round but not avoid a runoff, Mr Bolsonaro told journalists earlier in Rio de Janeiro he was confident he could win the presidency in the first round, citing voters’ frustration with his chief opponent.
He was counting on “a protest vote from people who would otherwise vote for another candidate but are opposed to Lula”, he said. “I hope it’s enough to secure a victory in the first round.”
