Brazil Presidential Election Heads To Runoff

(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News) "> KABUL (Pajhwok): Brazil's presidential election is heading to a second round after neither incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva nor opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro secured a majority in the first round.

The Associated Press reported, citing Brazil's electoral court, that with 99.8 percent of the votes counted, Flávio Bolsonaro had received more than 56 million votes, while Lula da Silva had secured 53.7 million.

The second round is scheduled for October 25, when voters will choose between the two candidates for Brazil's next president.

Lula da Silva, who is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term, said the first-round results were unexpected.

He said a new campaign would begin the following day, giving the candidates three weeks to win the support of voters who did not back either of them in the first round.

The runoff will determine the next president of Brazil, a country of about 214 million people and the largest economy in Latin America.

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