Without a majority win, Brazil election heads to second round

Brazil’s conservative incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro defied polls in Sunday’s election and emerged less than five points behind his opponent. The former leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva clinched 48.4 percent of valid votes, while Bolsonaro scored 43.2 percent. Bolsonaro and his allies had disputed predictions of a clear majority win for da Silva, saying the polls did not match the turnout on the campaign trail.

What happens next? Since neither candidate secured a majority win, Brazilians will cast their ballots again on Oct. 30 in a run-off election. Bolsonaro defended conservative values and faced criticism over his pandemic response and slack environmental protections. “I understand there is a desire from the population for change, but some changes can be for the worse,” Bolsonaro said after the results. Da Silva called the run-off election extra time in a football game as he promised supporters another victory.

Dig deeper: Read Jamie Dean’s report from the WORLD archives on Bolsonaro’s 2019 victory.