Supporters of former president and presidential candidate Luis Inacio Lula da Silva react as voters congregate in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 2, according to Reuters.
Jair Bolsonaro, the outgoing right-wing president of Brazil, won 45.5% of the vote, compared to Inacio Lula da Silva, the outgoing left-wing president, who received 45.7% of the vote. The vote-counting process is still ongoing.
According to experts, a second round of voting will be held between the two departing and previous presidents as a result of the convergence of voting rates.
Inacio Lula da Silva, a former president from the left, is hoping to defeat departing right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro in the first round of the contentious presidential election in Brazil on Sunday. Bolsonaro has warned to not accept the results.
The two candidates, Lula, 76, and Bolsonaro, 67, cast their votes in the early morning.
Voters lined up outside polling places, some wearing red to support Bolsonaro and others the colour of the Brazilian flag to support Lula.
The working-class So Bernardo do Campo neighbourhood of So Paulo is where the former Marxist president (2003–2010) voted. He was well-known for being a union leader there.
Lula, who is competing in his sixth presidential race for a third term, 11 years after stepping down from office with historic popularity, declared, “For me, it’s the most significant election.”
In response to the rift that was present in Brazil, he remarked, “We no longer want hostility and arguments; we want a country in peace.”
Soon later, 67-year-old Bolsonaro voted in Rio de Janeiro while sporting the yellow-and-green soccer jersey of his country over a bulletproof vest and once more warned that the results could be challenged.
“There won’t be a problem if the elections are fair. Let the strongest prevail! “President-elect-to-be, who has frequently attacked the electronic voting method, said thus.
The vote was proceeding “without issues, in full tranquilly,” according to Supreme Electoral Tribunal President Alexandre de Moraes, who was eager to “reaffirm the reliability and transparency” of the computerised voting system at midday.
According to the most recent Datalufa Institute poll, Lula would prevail with 50% of the vote, defeating Bolsonaro with 36%.
With the polls closing at 5:00 pm (20:00 GMT), supporters of both candidates gathered to watch the results.
Long lines had formed in front of polling places since early in the day, especially in Brasilia, the nation’s capital.
The family’s head of household, Daisy dos Santos, who is in her forties, responded to inquiries from AFP in Brasilia by saying, “I am a Christian and I only vote for politicians that support what is written in the Bible. Therefore, I vote for Bolsonaro.”
Kaia Ferrari, a 67-year-old retired psychologist from Rio de Janeiro, said simply and emphatically, “I despise Bolsonaro.”
Being a black woman, I voted for a candidate devoted to eradicating discrimination, said retiree Lucia Estella da Conceiço in Sao Paulo after casting her ballot for Lula.
We’re in a chaotic time, so she continued, and she hoped everything would go smoothly and there wouldn’t be any disruptions today.
Some voting places have opened in peculiar places, including an opulent hotel on Rio de Janeiro’s Cuba Cabana beach.
“I’ve never voted in a hotel before,” Juliana Trevisan told AFP.
These elections, vital to the future of democracy in Brazil, witnessed a furious conflict between the two top contenders that entirely swamped the other nine candidates who did not have a substantial presence.
It is impossible to determine whether there would be a second round, according to Adriano Loreno, an analyst with the consulting firm Prospectiva, who spoke to AFP.
And if Lula succeeds, it will signify a comeback to politics that he had not anticipated following his contentious detention in connection with corruption cases.
Lula’s team demanded a “meaningful vote” in an effort to win the first round without having to endure four more weeks of vicious attacks until the second round on October 30.
This will give Bolsonaro time to gather his followers and regain his breath in case there is a second round.
He also shared on Twitter the encouragement he had received from his few allies, including football player Neymar and former US President Donald Trump, who urged Brazilians to “re-elect one of the greatest presidents in the world.”
“If Bolsonaro loses, I believe he will appeal the decision, but this does not guarantee that he will be successful.
The outcome will be rapidly acknowledged by the global community, according to Loreno.
Fears of incidents resembling the attack on the Capitol building in Washington in January 2021 after Trump’s electoral defeat were revived when the outgoing president made a violent gesture.
The military showed no signs of alarm, and the US declared that it would “closely observe” the elections. Additionally, more than 500 000 members of the forces of order have been deployed to provide security.
Brazilians chose their 27 state governors, 513 federal lawmakers, and state assembly members on Sunday. These people are chosen to serve as president for a period of four years. The Senate’s 81 seats will have one-third of them renewed for another eight years.
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