Brazil’s presidential election will be decided in the second round. At the end of the first round of voting, Sunday October 2, the former left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as “Lula”, finished in the lead ahead of the outgoing far-right head of state, Jair Bolsonaro, with 48.40% of the votes against 43.22%, according to the results published by the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) covering 99.90% of the ballots counted.
Nearly 6 million votes separate the two men, Lula counting more than 57 million votes in his favor. But neither of the two candidates having reached an absolute majority, they will be decided in a second round, Sunday, October 30.
Some 156 million Brazilians were called to vote for this first round in order to choose their president for the next four years. Centrist Simone Tebet takes third place, far behind, with 4.16% of the vote. Labor Ciro Gomes follows at 3.05%. All other candidates are around or below the 0.50% mark. The participation rate for this first round reached 79%.
“The struggle continues until the final victory”said Sunday evening, Lula, who admitted that he hoped to win in the first round, and seemed touched after the announcement of the result. “It’s just an overtime. We are going to win this election”he predicted using a sports formula, promising “more trips, other meetings” to meet the Brazilians to win a third term.
” A suprise “
Among the eleven contenders for the supreme office, Lula was the favorite. Saturday evening, the latest Datafolha poll gave the candidate of the Workers’ Party (PT) largely in the lead, with 50% of the vote, against 36% for Jair Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party.
Lula, who spent five hundred and eighty days in prison pour corruption in 2018 and 2019, made a strong comeback after his convictions were overturned in 2021. At 76, he is campaigning on the « reconstruction » of a very divided country, promising the eradication of hunger, as well as a fight for the preservation of the environment.
Jair Bolsonaro said, in the evening, to have “overcome the lies” polls, and was optimistic for the second round. The Brazilians have punished the far-right president less than expected for his denial of the Covid (685,000 dead), the economic crisis in a country where more than 30 million people suffer from hunger and the crises that have marred his entire mandate. . By October 30, the populist leader will have the opportunity to galvanize his troops in the streets and find new momentum.
“It’s a surprise, Bolsonaro got more votes than expected, especially in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the two most important states in the country”told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Paulo Calmon, political scientist at the University of Brasilia. “In the second round, the presidential race remains open and promises to be hotly contested. Bolsonaro still has every chance of being re-elected.he adds.
In addition, many Bolsonarist candidates, including former government ministers, have been elected to Congress. The very controversial Ricardo Salles, who had been suspected of having taken part in a network of smuggling of wood from Amazonia when he was minister of the environment, for example obtained a seat as a deputy. Claudio Castro, an ally of the head of state in Rio de Janeiro, was re-elected governor in the first round.
At the headquarters of the Workers’ Party, – a hotel in Sao Paulo (southeast) – the tension was palpable on Sunday evening, while the results were scattered. At the start of the count, Jair Bolsonaro was more than five points ahead of Lula, but the gap then gradually narrowed.
“Reliability and transparency” of the ballot
Fears persisted over the post-election if successful in Lula’s first round on Sunday. His rival threatened not to recognize the results in the event of defeat, targeting the electoral system, before showing some signs of appeasement as the vote approached.
TSE President Alexandre de Moraes assured that the vote was taking place ” no problem “and held to “reaffirm reliability and transparency” of the electronic ballot box system, repeatedly criticized by Jair Bolsonaro. More than 500,000 members of the security forces were mobilized to provide security for the ballot, which took place in the presence of dozens of foreign observers.