Brazil election: Early count shows Bolsonaro ahead of Lula
Polls have closed in Brazil's presidential election, pitting incumbent Lula da Silva against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. With 10% of ballots counted, Bolsonaro leads with 51% against Lula's 40.8%.
Voting has concluded in Brazil's presidential election, with 80-year-old leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seeking a fourth non-consecutive term against 45-year-old Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is carrying forward the right-wing populist movement started by his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Early returns, based on 10% of processed ballots, show Bolsonaro leading with 51% of the vote to Lula's 40.8%. Because Brazil relies on electronic voting machines, final results are expected within hours of polls closing.
Closing rallies
Lula ended his campaign with an event in Sao Paulo that organizers said drew roughly 150,000 supporters, where he vowed to "defeat the far right" and pledged to continue his Workers' Party agenda of welfare programs, state-led development and income redistribution.
Flavio Bolsonaro led a motorcycle parade through towns outside Sao Paulo, holding up a portrait of his father as supporters chanted "mito" (legend). His campaign has centered on tough-on-crime policies and tax cuts, with repeated criticism of Lula over the cost of living.
Background
Jair Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after his 2022 election loss to Lula. Flavio Bolsonaro has pledged to pardon his father if elected. Lula's camp has pointed to the Bolsonaro family's ties to US President Donald Trump, who imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods last year in response to Jair Bolsonaro's coup trial.
Pre-election polling from research firm Quaest showed a tight race, with Lula at 46% and Bolsonaro at 45%. In 2022, Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro by just 1.8 percentage points. Besides the presidency, Brazilians were also voting for other lawmakers, governors and some senators.
