Brazil’s presidential election will go to a runoff on Oct. 25 after neither incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva nor Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro secured a majority in Sunday’s first round, election authorities in Brasília confirmed.
Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, led with 47% of the vote, or about 56.1 million ballots, while Lula, the 80-year-old leftist seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term, received 45.1%, or roughly 53.8 million votes, with 99.9% of ballots counted .
Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party also secured the largest congressional bloc, while his ally Tarcísio de Freitas won reelection as governor of São Paulo with about 63% of the vote .
Addressing supporters, Bolsonaro called the result “the end of an era” for Lula’s Workers’ Party, adding, “Brazil wants change” . Lula, who had expected an outright victory, said, “Sometimes the result is unexpected. Tomorrow we start a new campaign. I am very good in the knockout stage” .
