Flávio Bolsonaro edges Lula in Brazil's first round, forcing an Oct. 25 runoff
Bolsonaro outperformed polls but fell short of a majority; Lula closed a seven-point gap as late results came in.
With 99.5% of polling stations counted, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro had 47.1% of valid votes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's 45%. Neither reached 50%, so the two meet again on Oct. 25.
Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro finished narrowly ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round of Brazil's presidential election on Sunday, setting up an Oct. 25 runoff between the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro and the 80-year-old incumbent.
With 99.52% of polling stations counted, Bolsonaro had 47.13% of valid votes — about 55.96 million — against 45.04% for Lula, about 53.48 million, according to the electoral court's (TSE) count as reported by The Rio Times. A candidate needs more than half of valid votes to win outright, and the remaining stations cannot change that outcome.
Augusto Cury finished third with 2.90%, followed by Renan Santos with 2.25% and Ronaldo Caiado with 2.19%.
The race tightened sharply as the night went on. Bolsonaro led by more than seven points when about 65% of ballots had been counted, Reuters reported, but his margin shrank to about two points as results came in from states where Lula is stronger.
Bolsonaro outperformed final polls, which had shown Lula slightly ahead in the first round. He told Reuters he was counting on "a protest vote from people who would otherwise vote for another candidate but are opposed to Lula."
Lula, who defeated Jair Bolsonaro by about 2.1 million votes in 2022, said after voting that he would need to "do double of what we have done" if reelected, AP reported.
"Polarization in Brazil created a trap. There's no third candidate," political analyst Thomas Traumann told AP before the vote.
Brazilians also voted on Sunday for 27 state governors and for Congress. Nearly 160 million people were eligible to vote. The second round is on Sunday, Oct. 25.
