Brazil picks a president: Lula vs. Flávio Bolsonaro
Brazilians vote in a tight runoff between President Lula and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, who led round one 47% to 45%. Final polls show a near tie.
Developing story. Details may change as more information is confirmed.
Brazilians went to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president in a runoff that pre-election surveys suggested could go either way.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, is seeking a fourth term. His challenger is Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is barred from running for office. The race pits the left-wing incumbent against the political movement his father built on the right.
Flávio Bolsonaro came first in the opening round on Oct. 4, with 47.03% of valid votes against 45.16% for Lula, according to the official count. Because neither man crossed the 50% threshold, the top two candidates went to a second round. The final opinion polls published before Sunday showed the pair almost level.
Lula first governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010 and returned to office in 2023. A win would make him the first Brazilian president elected to a fourth term. A Bolsonaro victory would return the family to the presidency four years after Jair Bolsonaro lost to Lula in 2022.
Polling stations were scheduled to close at 5 p.m. Brasília time, which is 1 p.m. Pacific. Brazil votes on electronic machines nationwide, so the electoral court usually has a clear result within a few hours of polls closing.
Brazil, Latin America's largest democracy, had about 158.7 million eligible voters for this election, according to the electoral court.
This summary is original reporting by tehworldnews, written after checking the facts against several major international news outlets and official statements.