Brazil: Voting begins to decide result of Bolsonaro-Lula showdown
Polling gets underway in Brazil
Voting began in Brazil on Sunday (October 2), kicking off a stiff contest between leftist frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Lula Da Silva hopes to win in a single round amid fears that Bolsonaro may refuse to accept defeat.
Polls opened at 8 am local time (1100 GMT). The voting will go on for eight hours. AFP reported that voters were seen decked in red colours of of Lula's Workers' Party, or the green-and-yellow of Brazil's national flag that Bolsonaro has claimed as his own.
"I'm a Christian, I only vote for candidates who are for what's in the Bible, so I'm voting for Bolsonaro," housewife Aldeyze dos Santos, 40, told AFP in Brasilia, the capital.
In Rio de Janeiro, retired psychologist Katia Ferrari, 67, said: "I hate Bolsonaro."
"In Lula's time, things were much better, no matter if he stole... everyone steals," she said in an allusion to Lula's controversial graft conviction, later overturned.
One of the polls taken before voting shows former president Lula leading Bolsonaro with 50 per cent of valid votes to 36 per cent. This particular poll was taken by Datafolha institute.
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The figures put Lula within arm's reach of the score needed to win outright and avoid a runoff on October 30: half the valid votes, plus one.
Bolsonaro, known for his combative style, has repeatedly said "only God" can remove him from office, attacked supposed fraud in Brazil's electronic voting system, and vowed his re-election bid can have just three outcomes: "prison, death or victory."
(With inputs from agencies)
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