Far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro is slightly leading former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil‘s highly polarised presidential election.
With 52 per cent of votes counted, the conservative leader had amassed 46.3 per cent support on Sunday night.
Da Silva, of the leftist Workers’ Party, had 44.9 per cent of votes. Six other candidates share the remaining votes.
Polls closed at 5pm nationwide, but because the vote is conducted electronically, initial results come out quickly. Final results are usually available a few hours later.
Analysts say it isn’t yet clear if either of the two candidates will be able to claim an outright victory. A possible runoff is scheduled for October 30.
The highly election will determine whether Brazil returns a leftist to the helm of the world’s fourth-largest democracy or keeps the far-right leader in office for another four years.
There is growing concern that should Bolsonaro not win the election, he will not concede to da Silva.
Concern is growing that the incumbent, far-Right president, Jair Bolsonaro (left) will not concede defeat. He is pictured here with politician Daniel Silveira after voting during the legislative and presidential election
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who led the Latin American country between 2003 and 2010, is seeking to make a comeback at 76, vowing to get Brazil ‘back to normal’
Bolsonaro’s administration has been marked by incendiary speech, his testing of democratic institutions, his widely criticised handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worst deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in 15 years.
But he has built a devoted base by defending conservative values and presenting himself as protecting the nation from leftist policies that he says infringe on personal liberties and produce economic turmoil.
Da Silva is credited with building an extensive social welfare program during his 2003-2010 tenure that helped lift tens of millions into the middle class.
He is also remembered for his administration’s involvement in vast corruption scandals and his own convictions, which were later annulled by the Supreme Court.
More than 150 million Brazilians were eligible to vote in Sunday’s election, though abstention rates can reach as high as 20 per cent.
Millions across Brazil have taken to the polls Sunday in what is set to be a hugely polarising election for the Latin American country
A woman attends to cast her vote at a polling station during the presidential election, in Brasilia
A woman votes at a polling station in Lago de Catalao, Amazonas state, during Brazil’s general elections
Bolsonaro, a populist politician who took office in 2019, has repeatedly alleged Brazil’s electronic voting system is plagued by fraud, without any evidence.
He has refused to answer journalists’ questions on whether he would accept the result if he loses, saying the results must be respected only if elections are ‘clean.’
His attacks on the voting system have raised fears of a Brazilian version of the riots at the US Capitol last year after his political role model, former US president Donald Trump, refused to accept his own election loss.
Trump gave Bolsonaro a glowing endorsement Saturday, calling him a ‘fantastic leader’ in a video posted on social media.
67-year-old Bolsanaro voted Sunday in Rio de Janeiro in the yellow-and-green jersey of Brazil’s national football team.
He said he was confident he would win despite opinion polls showing Lula, candidate for Brazil’s Worker’s Party (PT), with a double-digit lead.
Lula, 76, previously led the Latin American country between 2003 and 2010 and is seeking to make a comeback on a platform of getting Brazil ‘back to normal’.
The former president said he wanted ‘a country at peace’ after four years under combative ex-army captain Bolsonaro.
Lula cast his ballot in his bastion, Sao Paulo, wearing a dark suit and button-up shirt ‘We don’t want more hate, more discord,’ said the ex-president.
Populist Bolsanro has built a devoted base by defending traditional family values and rebuffing political correctness. He wore a Brazillian national team football shirt as he cast his vote in Rio on Sunday
Incumbent President Bolsonaro voted in Rio de Janeiro in the yellow-and-green jersey of Brazil’s national football team
Donald Trump gave Bolsonaro (left) a glowing endorsement Saturday, calling him a ‘fantastic leader’ in a video posted on social media
Lula went into the vote on Sunday leading Bolsonaro with 50 per cent of valid votes to 36 per cent, according to a final poll from the Datafolha institute.
This puts him within arm’s reach of winning outright and avoiding a runoff on October 30.
Political analyst Adriano Laureno said it is likely Bolsonaro will try to contest the result if he loses.
‘But that doesn’t mean he’ll succeed,’ added Laureno, of consulting firm Prospectiva.
‘The international community will recognize the result quickly… There might be some kind of turmoil and uncertainty around the transition, but there’s no risk of a democratic rupture.’
As voting was underway in Sao Paulo, Seventy-year-old retiree Lucia Estela da Conceicao said Bolsonaro’s divisive term had left her ‘hoping for a change.’
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva poses upon arrival to vote in his bastion of Sao Paulo
Former President of Brazil and Candidate for the Worker’s Party (PT) Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves to supporters during general elections day
‘As a black woman, it’s been hard to see the country go backwards in terms of discrimination, prejudice, homophobia and also the economy,’ she said.
Marialva Santos Pereira, 47, said she would vote for the former president Lula’s party for the first time since 2002.
‘I didn’t like the scandals in his first administration, never voted for the Workers’ Party again. Now I will, because I think he was unjustly jailed and because Bolsonaro is such a bad president that it makes everyone else look better.’
Supporters of president Jair Bolsonaro gather in front of the condominium where the president has a home, in Barra da Tijuca, west zone of Rio
Bolsonaro supporters waving flags with pictures of the incumbent President. After a polarizing campaign between Bolsonaro and rival Lula, the largest Latin American nation voted on Sunday
A supporter of the Workers Party arrives to vote in Sao Paulo, a bastion of former president and electoral candidate, Lula
Brazilians pose with a flag depicting the face of Worker’s Party candidate Lula, as they wait in line to vote at the Santa Tereza de Jesus school, in the Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro
Popular Lula was once a metalworker, rising from poverty to the presidency, and is credited with building an extensive social welfare program during his tenure that helped lift tens of millions into the middle class.
But he is also remembered for his administration’s involvement in vast corruption scandals that entangled politicians and business executives.
He himself spent 19 months in prison on corruption charges, before his conviction was annulled by the Supreme Court.
‘In Lula’s time, things were much better, no matter if he stole… everyone steals,’ retired psychologist Katia Ferrari, 67, said in Rio, adding: ‘I hate Bolsonaro.’
People walk in a street covered with political leaflets during the legislative and presidential election, in Sao Paulo, Brazil
A Brazlian flag waves in the breeze on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, during Sunday’s general elections
On the other side, casting her vote in the capital, Brasilia, housewife Aldeyze dos Santos, 40, said she supports Bolsonaro because ‘I’m a Christian, I only vote for candidates who are for what’s in the Bible.’
Populist Bolsanaro has built a devoted base by defending traditional family values and rebuffing political correctness.
Her has projected himself as protecting the nation from leftist policies that infringe on personal liberties and produce economic turmoil.
More than 500,000 security force members were deployed to keep the peace on the highly polarised election day
Brazil is the world’s fourth-largest democracy, with presidents elected for four-year terms
Indigenous Kambeba man, Raimundo Cruz da Silva, gives his thumbs up after casting his vote during the legislative and presidential election
Lula has positioned himself firmly as the anti-Bolsonaro candidate in many ways, with the two men seen as political nemeses.
Lula’s campaign has focused heavily on saving the declining Amazon rainforest, with Bolsonaro’s administration presiding over the worst deforestation of it in 15 years.
Lula left office in 2010 after eight years in power, with an exceptionally high approval rating of more than 80 per cent.
He has maintained a strong base of support, and was previously described by former US President Barack Obama as ‘the most popular politician on Earth’.
Indigenous Kambeba people queue to vote in the Negro river, Amazonas state. Voting began early Sunday in South America’s biggest economy
People queue to vote in Rio. The election will decide both the next President and elect the country’s next government, including 27 governors, 27 senators, 513 federal deputies, 1,035 state deputies and 24 district deputies
Women wearing t-shirts depicting Brazilian former President Lula. He has maintained a strong base of support, and was previously been described by former US President Barack Obama as ‘the most popular politician on Earth’
But approval for him dipped after his sentencing to nine years in prison in 2017, on corruption charges which were later quashed.
As voting got underway, more than 500,000 security force members were deployed to keep the peace.
Brazil is the world’s fourth-largest democracy, with presidents elected for four-year terms.
As well as Lula and Bolsonaro, there are nine other candidates, but their support pales in comparison to the two frontrunners.
The election will decide both the next president and elect the country’s next government, including 27 governors, 27 senators, 513 federal deputies, 1,035 state deputies and 24 district deputies.