Bolsonaro, Lula garner significant endorsements as they prepare for Brazil's presidential runoff

As Brazil's incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gear up for their upcoming October 30 battle where they face off in a presidential runoff, both the contenders got key endorsements.

In Sunday's first-round election, they finished with a closer than expected five-point difference with Lula getting 48 per cent and Bolsonaro 43 per cent.

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While Bolsonaro raked up multiple endorsements, including one from his former justice minister, influential campaign buster Sergio Moro, Lula got a significant one from contender Ciro Gomes who finished fourth in the first round.

Lula's endorsement came as a surprise, as he and Gomes have a long history of animosity. Gomes in a video said that he grudgingly supports the endorsement as "the only exit, under the circumstances."

Third-place candidate Simone Tebet also hinted that she might back Lula. If he gets this endorsement it might prove key in luring the votes of centre-right Tebet's socially conservative women voters.

The newly re-elected Romeu Zema and Claudio Castro, the governors of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, the second and third largest states in Brazil, respectively, also endorsed Bolsonaro.

As did Sao Paulo's departing governor Rodrigo Garcia, who lost his own bid for reelection.

They will now be fighting to woo the voters who voted for third- and fourth-place finishers, Tebet and centre-left candidate Gomes, as well as those who cast blank, spoiled ballots and those who forego voting.

(With inputs from agencies)

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