President Jair Bolsonaro Moves To A Runoff Election Against Far-Left Lula On Oct. 30th
Â
After Lula's advantage in the first round of voting was cut short by Bolsonaro, Brazil's presidential election is moving to a runoff, electoral authorities reported on Sunday.
Lula was ahead with 47.6 percent of the vote, according to the national electoral authority, while Bolsonaro had 43.9 percent. Neither candidate obtained a majority of support, and the contest will proceed to a runoff election on Oct. 30.
Lula had been leading Bolsonaro by 10-15 points in late opinion polls. The substantially tighter result crushed assumptions of a rapid end to an extremely polarized election in the world's fourth-largest democracy.
Bolsonaro refused to accept polls that anticipated his loss against Lula in the first round, alleging they did not reflect the enthusiasm he witnessed while campaigning. He too carefully attacked Brazil's electronic voting system of being untrustworthy and hinted he would not concede if he lost the election.
The runoff portion of the election will take place on Oct. 30.