Brazil vote opens with Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro nearly level
A Quaest poll cited by Deutsche Welle puts the candidates one point apart in the first round, with a 25 October runoff possible.
Brazil’s presidential election has opened with incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in a close contest. A Quaest poll cited by Deutsche Welle puts Lula on 46 per cent and Bolsonaro on 45 per cent in the first round.
Neither candidate is projected by the cited polling to clear the 50 per cent threshold needed to avoid a second round. A runoff is scheduled for 25 October if required, but the result remains unknown.
In a hypothetical runoff, the same poll puts Bolsonaro on 44 per cent and Lula on 42 per cent. Poll figures are estimates; the source report does not provide the survey’s field dates, sample size or margin of error.
Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term. Bolsonaro has campaigned on hardline security policies and tax cuts, and has said he would pardon his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting to overturn the 2022 election result.
The candidates held their final campaign events in São Paulo on Saturday. Voters are also choosing lawmakers, governors and some senators.
