First-round voting in Brazil’s most divisive election in decades will take place on Sunday, with the leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expected to defeat the incumbent right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro.
The majority of polls had shown Lula to have a significant advantage for months, but Bolsonaro gave off the impression he may refuse to concede, raising concerns of an institutional crisis or post-election violence.
Before the election, a message reading ‘Peace in the Elections’ was projected onto Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue.
Lula, who served as president from 2003 to 2010, is typically favoured by 10 to 15 percentage points. There would be no need for a second round of voting if he receives more than 50% of all valid ballots, which multiple pollsters indicate is within reach.
Hours after polling places close at 5 p.m. Brasilian time, a winner may be declared (2000 GMT).
The top two finishers go to an Oct. 30 run-off if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, excluding blank and spoiled ballots, prolonging the heated campaign season.
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