Brazil’s top two presidential candidates—incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva— will face each other again in a runoff vote on October 30 after neither of them got a clear majority.
The polls released a day before the elections had predicted a 14 percentage point gap between Lula and Bolsonaro. However, Lula da Silva is ahead, as he had managed to gain 48.4 per cent of support while President Bolsonaro had 43.2 per cent. Nine other candidates were also competing.
Bolsonaro had questioned polls that showed him losing to Lula in the first round, saying they did not capture the enthusiasm he saw on the campaign trail. He has also attacked the integrity of Brazil’s electronic voting system without evidence and suggested he might not concede if he lost.
It is pertinent to mention that Lula could not run in the 2018 election because he was in prison after being convicted on corruption charges which were later annulled.
Lula left the presidency 12 years ago with record popularity. His conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court, allowing him to run again for president this year.
Deforestation and forest fires have soared during President Bolsonaro’s time in office. Climate activists have warned that if he is re-elected, the area could reach a tipping point.
His popularity has suffered since the coronavirus pandemic, which he called a “little flu” before Covid-19 killed 686,000 Brazilians.
Voters now have four weeks to decide which of the two should lead the country.
