BRAZILIANS VOTE IN TIGHT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AS LULA AND FLÁVIO BOLSONARO BATTLE FOR RUNOFF
Millions of Brazilians are voting in a closely contested presidential election dominated by incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Thirteen candidates are competing in the first round, but Lula and Bolsonaro have emerged as the two leading contenders. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of valid votes, the top two candidates will face each other in a runoff election on October 25. Voters are also electing all 513 members of Brazil’s lower house and two thirds of the Senate, making Sunday’s vote critical to the country’s future political balance. The campaign has been shaped by concerns over corruption, living costs, crime, public debt and Brazil’s increasingly difficult relationship with the United States.Millions of Brazilians are voting in a closely contested presidential election dominated by incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Thirteen candidates are competing in the first round, but Lula and Bolsonaro have emerged as the two leading contenders. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of valid votes, the top two candidates will face each other in a runoff election on October 25. Voters are also electing all 513 members of Brazil’s lower house and two thirds of the Senate, making Sunday’s vote critical to the country’s future political balance. The campaign has been shaped by concerns over corruption, living costs, crime, public debt and Brazil’s increasingly difficult relationship with the United States.