Brasilia:Brazil's presidential election is proceeding to a runoff between Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Neither candidate managed to secure more than 50% of the valid votes in Sunday's first round.
According to Qatar News Agency, with 99.99% of ballots counted, Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party (PL) candidate, led with 47.03% of the valid vote. He was narrowly ahead of Lula, the Workers' Party (PT) candidate, who garnered 45.16%, as per official results from Brazil's Superior Electoral Court.
The runoff, scheduled for October 25, will determine the leadership of Latin America's largest economy for the forthcoming term. Bolsonaro expressed satisfaction with his first-round lead, stating his pleasure at finishing ahead of Lula and his confidence in winning the runoff.
In contrast, Lula described the first-round results as "unexpected" but has pledged to return to the campaign trail with increased vigor, expressing confidence in his prospects for the October 25 runoff.