Brazil's bitterly divisive presidential election is headed for a runoff on October 30 as incumbent Jair Bolsonaro beat first-round expectations to finish a closer-than-expected second to front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, reports BSS.
Lula, the veteran leftist seeking a presidential comeback, had 48.3 per cent of the vote to 43.3 per cent for the far-right president with over 99 per cent of polling stations reporting, according to the Superior Electoral Tribunal.
At least 50 per cent of votes had been needed to avoid a runoff.
It was an unexpectedly strong result for combative ex-army captain Bolsonaro -- and for Brazil's far-right, which also had surprise good showings in a series of key Congressional and governors' races.
Lula, the popular but tarnished ex-president who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, had been the favorite to win the race -- possibly in a single round.
On the eve of the election, leading polling firm Datafolha had given Lula 50 percent of the vote to 36 percent for Bolsonaro.
Instead, the Latin American giant's polarizing campaign will now enter a new phase as Bolsonaro, 67, and Lula, 76, dig in for a four-week fight to the final bell.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
