Lula is ahead of Bolsonaro, and the second round will be held on October 30

The Brazilian presidential election will be decided in the second round. In the first round of voting, Sunday, October 2, former leftist President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, better known as “Lula,” finished ahead of the outgoing far-right head of state, Jair Bolsonaro, with 48.02% of the vote. votes against 43.55%, According to the partial findings of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) Covering more than 97% of the counted votes.

More than 5 million votes separate the two men, had it not been for nearly 56 million votes for him. But neither candidate reached an absolute majority, they will be decided in a second round, Sunday, October 30.

“The struggle continues until the final victory”Sunday evening, Lola said. “We will win this election”anticipating, promising “More trips and other meetings” To meet the Brazilians to win a third term.

About 156 million Brazilians were invited to vote in this first round of choosing their president for the next four years. Simone Tibbett took third place by a wide margin, with 4.21% of the vote. Followed by the Labor Party Cerro Gomez with 3.05%. The other seven candidates are around or below the 0.50% mark. The participation rate in the first round was 79%.

appreciable tension

This narrow victory disappointed Lola, whose victory was promised by the polls by a wide margin, even with a victory in the first round, which he wanted to celebrate on the great Paulista Avenue in São Paulo. On Saturday evening, Datafolha’s latest poll put the Labor Party (PT) candidate largely in front, with 50% of the vote, against 36% for Jair Bolsonaro. For the populist leader, who escaped a humiliating defeat in the first round, these four weeks could be an opportunity to galvanize his forces in the streets and find new momentum.

Round two means another month of a toxic crackdown that has racked millions of Brazilians since August. In addition, many Bolsonaro candidates, including former government ministers, have been elected to Congress and as governors.

At the Workers’ Party headquarters – a hotel in Sao Paulo (southeast) – tension was evident on Sunday evening, while results were sporadic. At the start of the count, Jair Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party led by more than five points over Lula, but the gap then gradually narrowed.

When Lula passed in front of him after more than three hours of counting, hundreds of people crowded Cinelandia Square in Rio’s historic center, bursting with joy, an AFP journalist said.

The “reliability and transparency” of the poll

Lula, who spent five hundred and eighty days in prison for bribery In 2018 and 2019, it made a strong comeback After his conviction was overturned In 2021. At the age of 76, he is campaigning on “rebuild” From a country deeply divided, it promises to eradicate hunger, as well as fight for the preservation of the environment.

Concerns about a post-election election persisted if she succeeds in Lula’s first round on Sunday. And his opponent threatened not to recognize the results in the event of defeat, targeting the electoral system, before some signs of calm appeared as the vote approached.

TSE President Alexandre de Moraes confirmed that voting is underway ” there is no problem “hold for “Reaffirming reliability and transparency” The electronic ballot box system, which has been repeatedly criticized by Jair Bolsonaro. More than 500,000 members of the security forces were mobilized to provide security for the voting process, which took place in the presence of dozens of foreign observers.