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'Polling problems' denied outright victory: Brazil's Bolsonaro

'Polling problems' denied outright victory: Brazil's Bolsonaro

Jair Bolsonaro

Brazil's far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro said "polling problems" during Sunday's election cheated him of outright victory.

Bolsonaro fell short of the threshold required -- 50 per cent plus one vote -- to avoid an October 28 run-off against his nearest rival, leftwing candidate Fernando Haddad.

An official tally showed Bolsonaro won 46 per cent against Haddad's 29 per cent.

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"I am certain that if this hadn't happened, we would have known the name of the president of the Republic tonight," Bolsonaro said in a live Facebook video feed.

The 63-year-old former paratrooper and the longterm congressman had boasted as he voted Sunday that a run-off would not be necessary.

Although he easily won the first round, surveys suggest the outcome of the second round is uncertain, with Haddad expected to come up almost neck-and-neck with Bolsonaro as he picks up support from other beaten candidates.