Brazil runoff: Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro cast ballots as polls point to dead heat
Both candidates in Brazil's presidential runoff voted Sunday. Polls show a neck-and-neck race; voting closes at 5 p.m. Brasilia time and results are expected within hours.
Archive image · Photo: U.S. Consulate in Rio / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and challenger Flávio Bolsonaro cast their ballots Sunday in the country's presidential runoff. Bolsonaro voted around 8 a.m. at a school in Rio de Janeiro, according to The Associated Press, while Lula voted in São Bernardo do Campo, where he began his career as a union leader in the 1960s. Supporters of both camps traded chants outside Bolsonaro's polling station. "The time of real change has arrived," Bolsonaro said.
Polls show a neck-and-neck race. Bolsonaro led Lula by about 2.2 million votes in the first round, when more than 33 million of nearly 160 million eligible voters stayed away despite compulsory voting. Voting is electronic and polls close at 5 p.m. Brasília time (2000 GMT), with results usually available within hours. The winner takes office in January.
The vote is also seen as a test of U.S. influence in Latin America. Bolsonaro, an ally of President Donald Trump, has touted his closeness to the White House and denies that Washington is helping his campaign. Lula has warned of the risks of U.S. interference in the election.