With nearly 100% of the ballots counted, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) received 48.43% of the votes, while President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) garnered 43.20%. A difference of about 6 million votes has placed both candidates in the second round of the Brazilian presidential elections, as neither achieved 50% of the valid votes. The second round will take place on Sunday, October 30.
Simone Tebet (MDB) and Ciro Gomes (PDT) finished in third and fourth place, respectively, with just over 5% of the votes.
The result of the first round of the elections confirmed the polarity of Brazilian politics at this moment. The narrow difference in the number of votes received by each candidate shows that either one could win the second round. This contradicts the electoral polls, which indicated Lula slightly ahead, with chances of winning the contest in the first round.
The exit polls also showed that Bolsonarism has not lost strength in the last four years. In addition to the good result for the presidency, the PL elected 98 federal deputies, the best achievement for a party since 1998, when the PSDB elected 105 deputies.
For the Senate, the PL elected 14 of the 27 seats that were contested. If elected, Bolsonaro will govern with the largest bench in the Federal Senate, with 15 senators elected.
In state governments, the PL again showed good results. Bolsonaro reaches the second round with more allied governors than Lula. The current president has the support of seven elected state executive heads from Sunday.
Like all eligible Brazilian citizens, those living abroad must return to the same polling place as the first round to exercise their voting rights in the second round. It is worth noting that Brazilians who transferred their voter registration to abroad can only vote for president and vice president of the Republic.