Brazil: Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula head to runoff, former president’s son narrowly ahead

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) won about 47 percent of the vote in the first round of Brazil's presidential election on October 4, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva about 45 percent, so the two meet in a runoff on October 25. Turnout was 78.92 percent.

Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, ran in place of his father, who is barred from standing. The campaign was marked by an institutional crisis around the Supreme Federal Court and the electoral court's ruling that Pablo Marçal was ineligible.

Two Brazils

The result confirms the country's deep divide between Lula's strongholds in the northeast and Bolsonaro's in the south and southeast. Lula, who has already served three terms, is seeking a fourth.