About the election
Brazil’s president is elected directly by the people; any candidate with more than 50% of the vote wins, and there is no role in the election for parliament and no electoral college.
A first round was held on Sunday 2 October, with 11 candidates. Because no single candidate won more than 50% of the vote, the leading two candidates were put through to a run-off.
The former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, led with 48.4% of ballots. Lula is a leftist from the Workers’ party; he was impeached for corruption and spent time in jail, but his conviction was later annulled.
The second-placed candidate in the first round was the incumbent president, Jair Bolsonaro, a rightwing populist. He secured 43% of the vote, which was more than pollsters had predicted.
Because the largest municipalities are often the last to declare, early results can be misleading. In the first round, Lula’s support was strongest in the north and east of the country, and Bolsonaro’s in the south. The state of Minas Gerais is often held to be a bellwether.
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