Brazil chooses between BRICS and Trump ally in presidential runoff

Lula has overtaken Bolsonaro as the vote count passes the halfway mark, securing 50.15% against his rival’s 49.85%, according to official figures.

With 50.76% of polling stations counted, the two candidates are separated by just 186,275 votes.

Brazil’s Federal Police are investigating whether public transport disruptions during the presidential runoff involved criminal offenses, Federal Police investigations director Dennis Cali said.

The probe covers Bahia, Sao Paulo, Piaui, Sergipe, and Alagoas, although a formal inquiry has so far been opened only in Sergipe. Investigators are interviewing people involved in organizing and providing transport services.

The disruptions were among the reasons that prompted the Supreme Court to extend voting hours by two hours.

With 37% of the vote counted, Flavio Bolsonaro maintains a narrow lead over Lula, securing 50.32% of the vote against the incumbent’s 49.68%.

Unverified reports circulating on social media allege that Bolsonaro supporters set fire to buses to prevent people from voting. These allegations have not been independently verified.

Separately, at least 75 buses were reportedly blocked from leaving their garages in Salvador, prompting an electoral judge to order the arrest of municipal transport secretary Pablo Souza, according to AP.

Flavio Bolsonaro has overtaken Lula in Brazil’s presidential runoff, receiving 50.24% of votes against the incumbent’s 49.76%, with 17% of polling stations reporting.

Prominent right-wing businessman and Flavio Bolsonaro ally Pablo Marçal has accused Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) of attempting to manipulate the presidential election narrative after a Supreme Court judge controversially extended voting hours nationwide.

READ MORE: Brazil election meddling: The stakes could not be higher

Speaking outside Bolsonaro’s election-night headquarters, Marçal denounced the decision by Justice Cristiano Zanin, Lula’s former personal lawyer, as an “absurdity” that had thrown the vote count into confusion.

“The decision arrives at 5:04pm, without notification to the Superior Electoral Court or any state electoral court. The voting machines were already closed, and there is no way to reopen them,” he told reporters.

Marçal argued that Bolsonaro’s campaign had requested an extension in only 17 cities affected by severe weather, questioning why the ruling applied to thousands of municipalities nationwide.

Brazil’s electoral authorities subsequently clarified that the extension applied only to polling stations where electronic voting machines had not already been shut down.

Lula leads with 50.5% against Flavio Bolsonaro’s 49.5%, with 10.4% of polling stations counted.

Counting was paused after the Supreme Court extended voting hours by two hours, with 335,743 votes tallied before the suspension. The decision followed reports that public transport disruptions had prevented some voters from reaching polling stations.

The extension applies only to polling stations where electronic voting machines have not yet been sealed, Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin has clarified, according to Brazilian news outlet UOL.

However, some stations had already sealed their machines before receiving the order, leaving late arrivals unable to cast their ballots.

Incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has taken an early lead over right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential runoff, according to the first figures published by the country’s electoral authorities.

Lula received 57.66% of valid votes against Bolsonaro’s 42.34%, with just 0.25% of polling stations counted as of 5:06pm Brasília time.

The extremely limited count does not provide a reliable indication of the eventual outcome, particularly as the nationwide extension of voting hours has disrupted the normal release of results.

The last major opinion polls released before Brazil’s presidential runoff showed Flavio Bolsonaro holding a narrow advantage over incumbent Lula da Silva.

An AtlasIntel/Bloomberg survey published Saturday put Bolsonaro at 50.8% of valid voting intentions against Lula’s 49.2%. The poll surveyed 4,990 voters between October 18 and 23, with a margin of error of one percentage point.

A separate Quaest survey put Bolsonaro at 51% and Lula at 49%, also indicating a tight contest.

Both surveys were conducted before election day and do not represent exit polls or actual votes cast.